Cannes 2026 market: The Brilliant doctor aiming for the stars…
🎥Also Bling Power and The Friday Films
This is our coverage of the Cannes Marché du film… (promotional)
Get in touch for Cannes 2027 (80) May 11-22 – if you are interested – sailesh@bigtalentmedia.co.uk – out Cannes 2027 in the subject line…This page was updated and amended over September 19-21
Introducing….
IT’S ALL GO for Dr Saima Firdoos as she embarks on a new career as a filmmaker.
The Harvard research scholar-doctor who was born into an impoverished single parent household in Pakistan marvels at how far she has come.
“One sister died and two are not at all educated but my mother was strong and resilient and I was able to study hard and I never looked back academically.”
She has a medical career spanning 20 years, training at Tufts and then becoming assistant professor and doing research at Harvard.
Talking to www.asianculturevulture.com in Cannes, in May, at her first proper foray into professional feature filmmaking, she couldn’t be happier about her decision to throw everything into filmmaking and giving up her medical practice.
“I was quite ill not so long ago and I thought about what is my legacy – I was facing death. It prompted me to think deeply about my future.”
It also inspired a huge spiritual awakening – she read, travelled and studied and discovered things she had not been much aware of previously and now centres her discoveries around the feminine, divinity and what binds us all together as humans.
“The connections between all world faiths – I am planning on writing a book which will accompany my film,” she enthused to acv in Cannes.
Tentatively titled ‘Mingling of Two Oceans‘, she continues to hone the script and meet prospective collaborators all over the world from her base in San Francisco.
“Going to Cannes was one of the best decisions of my life; initially, I thought I was going to direct and act in my own film but I think I found a director in Cannes and perhaps we will co-direct.”
So, what is her film about?
“It’s a historical epic but not confined to one period of history, it will move between Mughal India and modern times.”
It will also cover parts of her own personal journey from Pakistan to America, from hope to excitement, and fear to fulfilment – but she stresses the journey is not a linear or a simple one that goes from bad to good just because of a change in her personal circumstances or geography.
“I was diagnosed with multiple autoimmune diseases and the prognosis wasn’t good – that led me into deep thinking and gave birth to a new chapter of my life.”
She travelled extensively through Spain, Iraq, Iran Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, visiting the ancient Indus Valley civilisation ruins at Mohenjo-daro and Harappa.
“I was able to connect and walk in the footsteps of Prophet Ibrahim, Ram, Buddha, Moses, Jesus and the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). I now want to share my learnings through cinema, unapologetically.”
She wants her film to connect with audiences spiritually and understand that The Feminine is intimately connected to such a quest and as a medical doctor, she feels well placed to offer healing of a kind that soothes all.
From her experience of walking the Red Carpet at Cannes and compiling a glamorous photoshoot on the Croisette, she has all the qualities of a leading lady for the silver screen, we think.
A charming, personable, friendly, smiley and sincere persona, go a long way in an industry filled with people who can talk the talk but rarely walk the walk, as the phrase goes.
“Going to Cannes was alike a dream – it was one of the best decisions of my life – I met so many good people.”
She has some creative experience working with her husband on music videos and is looking to further her film connections globally.
Since Cannes, she has created a website and continues to seek out talent and support for her film project.
Phonetically, the same as her first name but spelt differently – Cyma (her website) – offers a glimpse into her unique world that combines science, spirituality, creativity and filmmaking.
C stands for Cinema; Y – Yearning; M – Medicine, Mysticism and Music, while A is for Awakening.
Next stop for Dr Firdoos is Venice – read more about her journey here…
Her website – https://dr-saima-mysticism.cyma931.chatgpt.site/
Cannes – https://lnkd.in/p/ehNiEDie
Bling Power: The glamour lady who lights up the Red Carpet
RACHANAA JAIN is no stranger to glamour, glitz or high fashion.
The actor-singer was back in Cannes earlier this year and walked the hallowed Red Carpet for the world premiere of ‘Her Private Hell’ helmed by the iconoclastic Danish director Nicolas Winding Refn.
On the carpet, Jain wore Dhanak Humayun from Rakshi’s Design Matariki.
This has been on display at at Papakura Museum in New Zealand and is filled with diamonds and crystals and took over 20 days to make.
The star of ‘Bling Power’ represents a new generation of artists who blend music, acting and entrepreneurship, and she is alive to collaboration. Her film in which she stars is story of wealth, dreams and ambition.
To find out more about her fashion choice in Cannes, see our interview with Jain in Cannes (pending).
‘Bling Power’ is available on Tubi TV in the UK
YouTube interview from Cannes will appear here…
The Friday Films – Hemant M Pandya and Nita Pednekar step up internationally
OVER from the US, this intrepid couple – Hemant and Nite Pednekar were also making their first trip to Cannes.
“It was truly amazing,” reacted Hemant to www.asianculturevulture.com. “Nita and I had been thinking about it for a long time and this year – we just decided to go for it. We’d obviously heard a lot about it and we met so many different people from all over the world and made many, many new connections.”
The couple are based in the Tri-State area (New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut) and have covered a lot of events and projects over the years.
This year they released their short, ‘Two Steps’ about two childhood friends who reunite in Boston, reigniting a buried and dark secret. It garnered two awards when it screened in Thailand – The Bangkok Society of Film Critics handed a Best Women’s Film and Best Actress Award to US based actor Seem Chaudhry for her role as Seema. Nita directed while Hemant wrote the screenplay and the film was produced by Seema Chaudhry Productions in association with Aashita Shekhar Production & The Friday Films.
The couple were able to walk the Red Carpet at Cannes for ‘The Battle of Gaulle’, which is a war-time French epic depicting Charles De Gaulle in two film parts. The latest, ‘De Gaulle: Liberté’ came out on September 17, while the first, ‘De Gaulle: Resistance’, came out at the end of August in the UK.
“We have great memories – it was all a bit dreamlike and we hope to be there in 2027.”
YouTube: https://youtu.be/y-20HoNf6zs?si=LRF8BQ1vqEBI_tcV
