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Dr. Amrit Singh, A young Sikh surgeon, moves from
Toronto to Detroit to take a position at a new transplant facility, leaving behind his family and Indian girlfriend. The film follows Amrit's struggles against the pressures to assimilate, including considering removing his turban and cutting his
319:, was an executive producer and assisted with the script. Burnstein first met Neelam in the late 1980s, when he pitched filming a Middle Eastern epic, but Burnstein was interested in Neelam's own life story. He advised Neelam to change the main character from a Caucasian doctor to a Sikh.
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hair, racial discrimination, an unfair medical system in which uninsured patients cannot receive transplants, and romantic temptation in the shape of an attractive colleague. The film is semi-autobiographical, and reflects the experience of Sikhs in
America post-9/11.
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argued that the "mix of tepid hospital intrigue plus underdeveloped cultural/relationship conflicts feels like a routine TV episode stretched to feature length, with little dramatic urgency or cinematic style to render its good intentions compelling."
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Asia
Pacific Arts included the film in its top ten films of 2008, saying that "its domestic and romantic melodrama feels true and never sensational, while its passion to reveal social injustice is never didactic."
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Director Sarab Neelam lived in India until his family moved to
Toronto when he was aged 10. He spent ten years learning filmmaking while working as a hospital doctor before making the film, taking advice from
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both gave the film a C+ rating, Tom Long concluding that "as a vehicle for demystifying the Sikh life while again highlighting the confusion of the modern world, "Ocean of Pearls" works well indeed."
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The film showed at the 10th
International Film Festival, Mumbai, in March 2008. and the Cannes Film Festival by iDream Independent Pictures.
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said "it sounds heavy-handed, and it is. Although the film looks professional, it feels like a soap opera with a message."
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plays a transplant patient. Local members of the Sikh community appeared as extras and offered their
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plays a
Senator's son vying for the same post as Amrit, and
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plays the
Detroit doctor who tempts Amrit to his new post,
705:"Oceans Of Pearls: Act Of Passion, Act of Professionalism"
196:. It is the first film directed by Sarab Singh Neelam, a
420:"'Ocean of Pearls' a Fresh Look at the Sikh Experience"
652:"Indian offbeat films seek to grab eyeballs at Cannes"
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841:"Heritage and career conflict in 'Ocean of Pearls'"
679:"iDream bolsters Cannes slate with Ocean Of Pearls"
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Sarab Singh Neelam, Veerendra Prasad, Jim
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488:Piligian, Ellen (6 August 2009).
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323:was another executive producer.
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627:"Connecting India to the world"
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46:Sarab & Jaspal Kaur Neelam
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813:Hall, Corey (5 August 2009).
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734:"Review: 'Ocean of Pearls'"
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165:English, Punjabi dialogue
200:gastroenterologist from
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192:is a movie released in
129:March 2, 2008
181:$ 7,523 in 1st weekend
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217:Awards and screenings
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396:. 13 February 2008
283:plays his father,
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253:Omid Abtahi
82:Snatam Kaur
55:Omid Abtahi
43:Produced by
27:Directed by
949:2008 films
943:Categories
424:India West
374:References
285:Ron Canada
275:Ajay Mehta
263:Navi Rawat
258:Over There
178:Box office
149:97 minutes
133:2008-03-02
89:Production
67:Navi Rawat
63:Ron Canada
35:Written by
871:SF Weekly
656:The Hindu
494:Metromode
368:SF Weekly
327:Reception
321:Jeff Dowd
162:Languages
108:Echo Lake
349:and the
307:gurdwara
267:The O.C.
73:Music by
51:Starring
767:Variety
360:Variety
271:Numb3rs
154:Country
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170:Budget
265:from
927:2009
909:IMDb
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331:The
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