Bite The Mango announce opening and closing galas

The UK Premiere of 'Hysterical Blindness', the latest film from Mira Nair, the director of 'Monsoon Wedding' and 'Salaam Bombay!' will provide the Gala Opening for the eighth Bite The Mango Film Festival at the National Museum of Photography, Film & Television (14-20 June).
Starring Uma Thurman, Gena Rowlands, Juliette Lewis and Ben Gazzara 'Hysterical Blindness' is a bittersweet love story set in working class New Jersey.
The closing night sees the UK premiere of 'Miss Wonton', starring May Ting and directed by Meng Ong; the tale of a Chinese girl who flees her village for a better life in the United States - a search for identity which sees both East and West and fantasy and reality collide.
Other films receiving their UK premiere during the Festival, which celebrates non-Western perspectives in cinema, include Hong Kong hit 'Platform' - starring Wang Hong-Wei and directed Jia Zhang-Ke, a rap take on 'Car Wash', 'The Wash' - starring Dr Dre and Snoop Doggy Dogg. Previews include 'Beijing Bicycle', (China/Taiwan) 'À L'Afrance' (France), 'Pilgrimage' (India) and 'Tere Pyar Mein' (Pakistan) - plus two documentaries taking a different perspective on the terrorist attack on September 11: 'Not In My Name' and '9.11'.
Other Bite The Mango highlights include retrospectives of Bengali film-maker and maverick Ritwik Ghatak and Oscar winner Denzel Washington, plus a screening of Nick Broomfield's acclaimed documentary on Biggie & Tupac.
Contact the Box Office, tel: 01274 202030, or visit www.bitethemango.org.uk
(SP)