Param Gill

Param Gill is an award-winning American film director and writer of Indian origin, known for directing films which tackle diverse themes.^[1] He is active in Hollywood and Bollywood film industry and has won numerous awards for his films.^[2] His latest film, Going to America, was released by AMC theaters on 28 August 2015 ^[3] and received favorable reviews from critics^[4] with Atlas and Aeris independent film magazine calling director Param Gill as the next big independent filmmaker in Hollywood.^[5]

Career

Gill made history, and became first director in the world to premiere his Hollywood film, Last Supper (released in theaters as Going to America), and Bollywood film, Death of Amar, over the same weekend at a film festival in San Francisco .^[6] The movies competed against each other and went on to win multiple awards, including best director with a cash prize of US$100,000.^[7][8] Gill was born at Moga, Punjab, and his father was a farmer. He was penniless when he came to United States in May 2001 and worked nights at a gas station in New Jersey.^[9] Gill received a joint master's degree from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey and the New Jersey Institute of Technology in 2003 and received a diploma in film-making from New York Film Academy in 2005. He practiced dentistry in Modesto and founded Gill Dental Dental Group with multiple locations in Northern California until he completely transitioned to films.^[10]

Films

Gill made his directorial debut in 2009 with the English-language comedy film Rockin' Meera', starring Terrence Quaites, Sonu Sood, Nauheed Cyrusi, Debra Wilson and Sayaji Shinde. The film took two years to complete and was shot on location at Bikaner, India, and San Francisco, California. Although the film was well promoted and had a decent opening at the box office,^[11] it failed commercially since it was released only on limited screens. Rockin' Meera collected a million dollars from just about 15 prints spread on 45 screens over a period of 3 months, which was way short of its $1.5 million budget. The film found critical acclaim in the festival circuit and played at Independent Black film festival, South Asian film festival, Sweet Auburn film festival and many others. The movie soundtrack ^[12] was composed by Will Storkson and Satish-Ajay. The soundtrack featured Sukhwinder Singh, Shaan, Sunidhi Chauhan, Terrence Quaites and Tatyana Ali.

Gill's next movie, Hotel Hollywood,^[13] was a dark thriller about a wedding party which checks into a hotel and is not found again. Gill firmly believed that good cinema is possible without spending a lot of money and involvement of the audience. This statement was put to the test when the movie released on 23 July 2010. The film opened to a huge response in North American theaters and made headlines for "Crack the Code and Win $20000". The Internet was abuzz, with more than half a million hits to the web site and tens of thousands of fans on Facebook. Hundreds of code entries were submitted even before the film was released to the North American market. Critics gave the following comments: “Terrifying Action and Suspense! I felt wary and fearful for 2 days after watching Hotel Hollywood... Mac Ferguson (Critic). Hotel Hollywood is a Must Watch... Times of India. ^{[6] [14]}

Gill is in post-production on a kung fu epic film Warrior Savitri, boasting an all international cast of Om Puri, Lucy Pinder, Tim Man, Ron Smoorenburg, Niharica Raizada and Rajat Barmecha.^[15] It is a modern-day adaptation of the legendary fable of Savitri, Satyavaan and Yamaraj from Mahabharata, one of the major Sanskrit epics of ancient India set in sin city, Las Vegas. The modern-day Savitri is adept in martial arts and will do anything to save her husband. The film was shot in United States, India and United Kingdom. It is expected to release in early 2016.^[16]

Gill is next working on Dentist 3D, which is a horror comedy inspired from Roger Corman classic movie The Little Shop of Horrors.

Books

Gill wrote a book, "How to lose a million dollars and not lose your smile" based on his experiences with the film industry. The book is set for release through Amazon.com.

Dentistry

Gill founded 'Gill Dental Group' at the heights of recession. He owned a dental practice in Stockton, California, when the recession hit in 2007, and Stockton was declared the foreclosure capital of the country. Most of his patients lost their jobs and associated medical and dental benefits. Gill sensed an opportunity to make a difference and provide dental services for the uninsured. Gill Dental plan was introduced in 2008 and was a big help to the underprivileged and uninsured until it was folded in 2012, once the economy inched back to normal.^[17]

Awards

Filmography

References

External links

• Param Gill at the Internet Movie Database
• Rockin Meera information.
• News press release.
• Gill Dental Group official site.
• Neteffectmedia.com
• Film release news article.
• Arts festivals and exhibitions information.