Eisha Marjara is a Canadian film director and writer. With a background in photography, Marjara has written and directed several award-winning films, including the feature documentary '' Desperately Seeking Helen'' (1998) and ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' (1994). In addition to her film work, her photo series and essay on the bombing of Air India Flight 182, in which her mother and sister were killed, entitled "Remember me Nought" was featured in the fall 2013 issue of ''Descant'' magazine. Her 2016

debut novel A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to pu ...

, titled ''Faerie'' ( Arsenal Pulp Press), received a star review in ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

''.

Career

Marjara's 1998

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television show, television and feature film, film, which features Drama (film and television), dramatized Historical reenactment, re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of docu ...

'' Desperately Seeking Helen'' received critical acclaim and brought her international recognition. The movie depicts Marjara on a journey to

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, exploring her own Indian roots by following the career of acclaimed

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, is primarily produced in Mumbai. The popular term Bollywood is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (former name of Mumbai) and "Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". The in ...

movie star and vamp Helen Richardson Khan. The movie received the jury award of the Munich Documentary Film Festival in 2000 as well as the Prix de La Semaine Critique at the

Locarno International Film Festival The Locarno International Film Festival is a major international film festival, held annually in Locarno, Switzerland. Founded in 1946, the festival screens films in various competitive and non-competitive sections, including feature-length narr ...

the same year. Marjara's Canadian-German co-production ''The Tourist'', a short film, had its first showing at the 24th Rendez-vous du Cinéma Québécois in 2006. In 2017 Marjara completed the feature film ''Venus'', a dramedy about a 30-something professional who transitions into a woman then discovers that she is the father of a fourteen-year-old boy. The 95 minute film was produced by Joe Balass of Compass Productions Inc. and executive producer

Kevin Tierney Kevin Tierney (August 27, 1950 – May 12, 2018) was a Canadian film producer from Montreal who co-wrote and produced the most popular Canadian film of all time at the domestic box office, ''Bon Cop, Bad Cop'', for which he earned a Golden Ree ...

('' Bon Cop, Bad Cop''). It premiered at the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

at their Southbank event in June 2018. ''Venus'' was inspired by her short film ''House for Sale''. In 2022, Marjara wrote and directed the film ''Calorie''. Marjare has been a member of the NFB/ ONF Creation group of directors.

Personal life

Marjara is the daughter of father Dr. Harinder Singh Marjara, and mother Devinder. She had two sisters, Seema and Amita.Air India 182 Press Kit
(). ''Air India 182'' (film) official website. p. 11/12. Retrieved on October 22, 2014. She grew up in

Trois-Rivières Trois-Rivières (, ; ) is a city in the Mauricie administrative region of Quebec, Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Saint-Maurice River, Saint-Maurice and Saint Lawrence River, Saint Lawrence rivers, on the north shore of the Sain ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, and she lived in Trois-Rivières, Sainte-Foy, and

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

. She attended

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

, enrolled in Communications Studies.Black, Barbara.
Air India disaster hit Concordia hard

Archive
). '' Concordia's Thursday Report''. April 21, 2005. Volume 29, No. 14. Retrieved on November 22, 2014. Her mother and her sister, Seema, were killed in the bombing of

Air India Flight 182 Air India Flight 182 was a passenger flight operating on the Montréal–Mirabel International Airport, Montreal–Heathrow Airport, London–Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi–Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumb ...

; they had been flying to visit relatives.Reinhart, Anthony.
Three relatives of Air India victims revisit lost innocence
" ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Newspapers in Canada, Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in Western Canada, western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on week ...

''. Wednesday June 16, 2010. Updated Thursday August 23, 2012. Retrieved on November 22, 2014. Seema had just graduated from Centennial Regional High School.Semenak, Susan.
Happy honors grad left prom early to rest up for ill-fated flight to India
" ''

The Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

''. Wednesday June 26, 1985. p. A1. Retrieved on

Google News Google News is a news aggregator service developed by Google. It presents a continuous flow of links to articles organized from thousands of publishers and magazines. Google News is available as an app on Android, iOS, and the Web. Google ...

(p. 1/111) on October 22, 2014. Eisha was not on board because she was being treated for

anorexia nervosa Anorexia nervosa (AN), often referred to simply as anorexia, is an eating disorder characterized by Calorie restriction, food restriction, body image disturbance, fear of gaining weight, and an overpowering desire to be thin. Individuals wit ...

, and her father was teaching a summer course at the time. Both Eisha and Amita Marjara along with father Harinder were interview subjects of the 2008 documentary '' Air India 182''. Marjara, along with her family, is

Sikh Sikhs (singular Sikh: or ; , ) are an ethnoreligious group who adhere to Sikhism, a religion that originated in the late 15th century in the Punjab region of the Indian subcontinent, based on the revelation of Guru Nanak. The term ''Si ...

Filmography

* ''The Incredible Shrinking Woman'' (1994) * '' Desperately Seeking Helen'' (1999) * ''The Tourist'' (2006) * ''Lolita Diaries'' (2008) * ''House for Sale'' (2012) * ''Un Mot tel Idéal'' (2016) * ''

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is often called Earth's "twin" or "sister" planet for having almost the same size and mass, and the closest orbit to Earth's. While both are rocky planets, Venus has an atmosphere much thicker ...

'' (2017) * ''Calorie'' (2022)

References

External links

*
Official Site of the National Film Board of Canada on "Desperately seeking Helen"Index of articles
from the ''

Montreal Gazette ''The Gazette'', also known as the ''Montreal Gazette'', is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper which is owned by Postmedia Network. It is published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the only English-language daily newspape ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Marjara, Eisha Film directors from Quebec Canadian women film directors Living people Canadian people of Indian descent Canadian Sikhs Concordia University alumni People from Trois-Rivières Year of birth missing (living people) Asian-Canadian filmmakers

Career

Personal life

Filmography

See also

References

Further reading

External links