Underplayed Gems

1999 (2009)

1999 poster
Directed by
Lenin M. Sivam
Genre
drama film
Country
Canada
Runtime
1h 41m
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

In late 1990s Toronto, a peace treaty between two Tamil gangs ends with a shooting. The film follows the fallout over less than a day as detectives close in and rivals seek revenge, showing how gang life damages individuals, their families, and their community.

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What happens

1999 is a 2009 Canadian Tamil-language crime drama film written and directed by Lenin M. Sivam. It had its world premiere at the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). The film explores a Toronto Sri Lankan gang scene in the late 1990s. With a time frame that spans less than 24 hours, it attempts to delve deep inside the Tamil gang community. It opens with a shooting that results in the end of a peace treaty between two rival gangs in Scarborough. With investigators closing in and rival gang members out for revenge, 1999 maps out the toll that gang participation takes not only on the individual, but the direct impacts it has on family and community. The film received the CBC Audience Choice Award at the 2010 ReelWorld Film Festival, was one of the top 10 Canadian films at Vancouver International Film Festival, and received the Midnight Sun Award at the 2010 Oslo Tamil Film Festival. The film addresses the topic of crime in Toronto by "exploring the rivalry between two gangs" in the city. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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