This film was originally selected as an AFI Movie Club pick on August 18, 2020.
THE NAMESAKE, which follows a young Indian American (Kal Penn) caught between his family roots in Calcutta and life in America, was directed by the acclaimed Academy Award®-nominated filmmaker Mira Nair – who has spoken at a Harold Lloyd Master Seminar at the American Film Institute – and shot by AFI Conservatory alum and Franklin J. Schaffner Alumni Medal recipient Frederick Elmes.