txONG HU4 Arts & Entertainment FINE CHINESE DINING 'A wonderful adventure in fine dining" - Danny Raskin 6 6 6 6 a ; To Amen Screenwriting guru helps Sikh physician translate life to film. Open 7 days a week for lunch and dinner Catering and carryout available Gift certificates 27925 Orchard Lake Rd., North of 12 Mile, Farmington Hills 248-489-2280 www.honghuafinedining.com 3.E§7 @o©: Li_rowm MNE gnnffscUTKI, MaUDEO ,AIAD 00UP' ARTY TRAYS AVAILABLE PRIVATE DINING ROOM Receive 10%0ff Total Food Bill Dine-in only Not valid with Specials. Not valid with any other offers. With coupon. Expires 8/31/09 FULL BAR FULL SERVICE CATERING CHILDRENS MENU $4.95 4301 ORCHARD LAKE ROAD WEST BLOOMFIELD CROSSWINDS PLAZA 248-538-6000 we. dotart/Vetkesdai Buy any bottle of wine for 1/2 off the regular ice* with purchase of two full course dinners (cannot combine with any other offers) $5.00 off With purchase of 2 full course dinners • Specials not included, dine in only • Mon-thurs only Excludes holidays • Expires 8/31/09 37646 West 12mile at Halsted Farmington Hills 248-994-4000 www.antoniosrestaurants.com ours open Monday — Friday at 10:30 a.m. I Saturday and Sunday at 1:00 p.m. • Private party rooms • Full bar • Children's menu 40 August 6 ° 2009 A scene from Ocean of Pearls Suzanne Chessler Special to the Jewish News S arab Neelam and Jim Burnstein made a movie deal, and it seems to be a win-win arrange- ment without a penny changing hands. Neelam, a physician with dreams of being a big-time filmmaker, got Burnstein's production advice as he pushed forward with his first fictional work, Ocean of Pearls, which is based on his own life. Burnstein, a screenwriter (Renaissance Man, D3: The Mighty Ducks, Ruffian) whose day job is screenwriting coordinator in the Department of Screen Arts & Cultures at the University of Michigan, refused pay but did ask for unlimited access to Neelam's medical advice. The film that brought them together will be shown Aug. 7-13 at the Landmark Maple Art Theatre in Bloomfield Township and Aug. 14-20 at the Emagine Canton and the AMC Forum in Sterling Heights. Ocean of Pearls, directed by Neelam, tells of a man torn between the ways of his family's traditional Sikh com- munity and the ways of the profes- sional and social community he is entering as a doctor in America. It is a drama about values as well as a love story. The film stars Omid Abtahi, Heather McComb, Ron Canada and Navi Rawat. "My feeling was that this is a uni- versal story of coming to America and facing assimilation, and I think it will resonate with the Jewish community," explains Burnstein, who became exec- utive producer after coaching Neelam through the project's stages. "As I learned about the Sikhs, I noticed similarities with the Jews. For example, both are monotheistic. Sarab, in some ways, sounded like a relative." Neelam, who moved from India to Canada when he was 10, developed an early interest in film that continued as he pursued a career in medicine. During his residency in Michigan, the young doctor met screenwriter Kurt Luedtke (Out of Africa), who intro- duced him to Burnstein. "I wrote a draft of a screenplay, but it wasn't very good so Jim brought in his talented former student V Prasad," Neelam says. "Being Indian and brought up in the U.S.A. helped Prasad understand my main character's struggles, and we worked on the script for three years with help from Jim and Jeff ("The Dude") Dowd. Jeff was extremely passionate and brought our screenplay to a higher level." As Burnstein got to know Neelam, he became caught up with his per- sonal stories and how they could apply to film, but he did not hold a positive outlook through the obstacle-filled dramas from raising money to casting. "Every step of the way, I told him it's too hard," says Burnstein, whose most recent project is the film Time of Your Life, a true story about the poignant legacy of an American soldier killed in Iraq. "Sarab couldn't be stopped, and he did it." ❑ Ocean of Pearls will be shown Aug. 7-13 at the Landmark Maple Art, 4135 W. Maple, in Bloomfield Township, (248) 855-9091; and Aug.14-20 at the Emagine Canton, 39535 Ford Road, (734) 721-3456, and the AMC Forum, 44681 Mound Road, in Sterling Heights, (586) 254-1381.