Local filmmaker brings A Diwali Dilemma home for special Monday screening

Press release from Mohana Rajakumar

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Mohana Rajakumar, a Gainesville native and novelist turned filmmaker, is bringing her latest short film, A Diwali Dilemma, back to her hometown for a special community screening on Monday. A graduate of the UF English department with a PhD in English, Rajakumar also attended Buchholz and Lincoln Middle School. She now lives part of the year in Qatar, where she is a university professor. 

A Diwali Dilemma is a fresh, modern reimagining of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, set within a South Asian, Gen Z context. Blending humor, heart, and cultural specificity, the film explores themes of labor, tradition, and self-worth, expanding the classic story beyond redemption narratives of wealth to focus on working-class realities and collective care.

Via a screening and talk back Monday, December 15, 6:00 p.m. at the Hippodrome, Rajakumar offers local audiences an opportunity to see the film where the filmmaker’s creative journey began. “Sharing this story in my hometown feels incredibly meaningful,” Rajakumar. “This project is about reclaiming joy, community, and choice — and there’s no better place to celebrate that than Gainesville.”

The event is open to the public and welcomes community members, students, and lovers of independent film and literary adaptations.