Deepa Mehta to make special appearance at Vancouver film fest

Noted Indo-Canadian director and screenwriter Deepa Mehta will make a special appearance at this year's Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF) on Simon Fraser University's Surrey campus, a media report said.

The event will include a live interview with the Oscar-nominated filmmaker prior to the screening of her two films -- "Heaven on Earth" and "Earth" -- on September 28, Voice Online reported on Thursday.

"Heaven on Earth" is a 2008 Canadian film directed and written by Mehta. Actor Preity Zinta plays the leading role of Chand, a young Indian Punjabi woman who finds herself in an abusive arranged marriage with an Indo-Canadian man.

The film was dubbed into Hindi under the title "Videsh" for India release.

"Earth" was adapted from Bapsi Sidhwa's novel "Cracking India" and it premiered at the 1998 Toronto Film Festival.

The film revolves around the politics of land and nationalism after 1947 Partition of India.

The Toronto-based filmmaker is one of the most provocative and exciting new directors and received an honorary degree from SFU in June this year.

Mehta began her career with the controversial film "Fire" in 1996, later working on her trilogy of the elements: "Fire", "Earth", and "Water".

Mehta was born in India and has a degree in philosophy from the University of Delhi. After immigrating to Canada in 1973, she embarked on her professional cinematic career as a scriptwriter for children's films.

She made her debut as a director and producer with "Sam & Mea" in 1991.

In 2012, Mehta received a lifetime Artistic Achievement Award for Film from the Governor General of Canada. In 2013, she was appointed to the Order of Ontario and the Order of Canada for her work.