The Gold Coast International Film Festival will join the ReelAbilities Film Festival in a special Furman Film Series event, screening Margarita with a Straw—the tale of a rebellious young woman with cerebral palsy who leaves her home in India to study in New York, unexpectedly falls in love and embarks on an exhilarating journey of self-discovery—on Wednesday, March 16, at 7:30 p.m. at Bow Tie Squire Cinemas, 115 Middle Neck Rd. in Great Neck.
The award-winning film from directors Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar has already garnered praise from film critics and received several awards since its April 2015 release, including the Audience Award at the Montclair Film Festival, the NETPAC Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and the Best Actress Award at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival held in Estonia.
Starring Kalki Koechlin, Revathi and Sayani Gupta, the film is a funky, stereotype-busting coming-of-age tale about a Punjabi teenage girl with cerebral palsy, which is based on a true story. Laila, an aspiring writer and secret rebel in a wheelchair, is accepted to New York University and leaves India for Manhattan. After a chance encounter with a fiery female activist, Laila starts to grow emotionally and explore this new world and its liberal sexualities. Tackling subject matter rarely explored with lightheartedness, this award-winning drama is a beautiful, bold and brave portrait of love, identity and sexuality. Margarita with a Straw is joyous cinema bound to win your heart.
For more information or to purchase tickets, visit www.goldcoastfilmfestival.org.
