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John & Jane Toll-Free takes an intimate look at six individuals who work at call centers in Bombay (Mumbai) India, initiating and answering 1-800 numbers to and from America, who have had varying
experiences within the system.
"Glen" and "Sydney" are disillusioned and have
dreams of a better life; "Osmond" fully embraces the American Dream and is
convinced he'll soon become a billionaire like his idols, Elvis Presley and
Engelbert Humperdinck; "Nikki" has turned to Jesus and considers her coworkers
family; "Nicholas" finds his marriage to a fellow call-center employee
compromised when she is forced to work in a different location on a different
shift; and "Naomi" has completely erased her Indian identity in an attempt to
become Americanized.
Throughout the world, call centers have been proliferating in economically
depressed areas, where companies get cheap land and labor, and can often
benefit from grants to encourage countries to improve employment in a given
region. A large number of call centers have moved to India, but the trend is on
a decline as the country rapidly absorbs most of the highly educated people in
other outsourcing jobs. As in other countries, call-center work in India is
increasingly viewed as a stopgap rather than as a career.
John & Jane Toll-Free has screened at film festivals worldwide, including the
2005 Toronto International Film Festival, the 2006 Los Angeles Asian-American
Film Festival, the 2006 Berlin Film Festival, the 2006 Lincoln Center New
Directors/New Films Series, the Edinburgh Film Festival, the 2006 Jerusalem
Film Festival, the 2006 Full Frame Festival, and others. It won the Best Film
Award at the European Media Art Festival, the Jury Award at the VC Filmfest, an
honorable mention for the Maysles Brothers Award, and the Best Nonfiction Film
National Film Award.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER: Ashim Ahluwalia was born in Bombay, India in 1972,
and studied film at Bard College in upstate New York. In 1999, Ahluwalia set up
Film Republic, a company dedicated to producing Indian independent cinema
outside the traditional "Bollywood" system. A year later, he completed Thin Air,
a documentary that followed the lives of three magicians against the backdrop of
contemporary Bombay. The film won the Best Film Award at Film South Asia.
CREDITS: Produced, Directed and Edited by Ashim Ahluwalia; Executive Produced by Anand Tharaney;
Associate Produced by Shumona Goel; Photographed by Mohanan K U; Music By Masta'
Justy. For Cinemax Reel Life: Consulting Editor: Geof Bartz; Supervising Producer: Sara
Bernstein; Executive Producer: Sheila Nevins.
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