I guess I’m too used to reading about companies doing park cleanups and school beautifications. Not that I’m against clean parks or pretty schools. And not that I’m against partnerships that put more computers in front of kids — or more books in libraries.
But we all know that there are some lines that we wouldn’t expect a major corporation to cross. Lines related to politics or shifts in sexual identity. Even when it comes to corporate branding in a progressive city like San Francisco.
As I dug through my hotmail account for signs of intelligent life, I came across an email from 3rd I. 3rd I is a south asian-oriented film collective with chapters in several major American cities. Their film showings range from Bollywood blockbusters to documentaries on hijras, human rights, and the South Asian diaspora.
And so I wasn’t surprised to see that 3rd I was cosponsoring The World Unseen, a movie set in 1950’s apartheid South Africa. It features the attractive Sheetal Sheth as the character Amina, a woman who slides away from her Indian community’s prejudices through her affiliation with Jacob, a black African male business partner.
Amina takes a second step away from her community’s conservative roots when she starts falling out of her loveless marriage — and into an affair with Miriam, played by Lisa Ray of Water.
No surprises here. Breaking the color lines, breaking the sex lines. It’s the stuff that San Francisco film festivals are made of.
But what did surprise me? The name at the bottom of the announcement.
Sponsored by: www.deloitte.com
