IFFLA announces virtual showcase of 120 films as it celebrates 17 years of Indian cinema

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA), which showcases independent cinema from India and its diaspora, has announced a special virtual showcase of films titled, Over the Years: 17 days celebrating 17 years of Indian cinema beginning Friday.

The festival, which is held in April every year, was among the many film events that were canceled all over the world due to coronavirus pandemic. The organizers said the showcase is IFFLA's response to the ongoing uncertainty in the film festival world.

IFFLA founder Christina Marouda said, “We are beyond thrilled to be presenting this online showcase of alumni films. Traveling through 17 years of programming has allowed us to reconnect with so many of our alumni with whom we share fond memories. We are excited with this opportunity to collaborate with them to offer new audiences worldwide the chance to discover some of the most visionary voices of Indian independent cinema in recent years."

Marouda added, "We also hope recent IFFLA attendees have a chance to catch up with films from our first decade, and early attendees who could not join us in recent years are able to discover some of the newer gems we have presented. There is literally a film for everyone’s appetite.” 

The showcase includes over 120 feature films, documentaries and short films, which has been curated into 12 categories highlighting the diverse viewing experiences available for audiences.

The Humor Me Now section will see the late Manish Acharya’s Loins Of Punjab Presents (2007), while Anurag Kashyap's Gangs Of Wasseypur (2012) and Vikramaditya Motwane’s Trapped (2017) will be part of the Grit and Thrills category.  A special category for women called A Female Lens will features films made by and/or centering on women such as Karishma Dube’s Devi: Goddess (2017).

This Is Not Fiction presents award-winning documentaries, including Faiza Ahmad Khan's hilarious Supermen of Malegaon (2008), while Stories of Youth highlights children and adolescence in films such as Rima Das’s Village Rockstars (2018) and Shubhashish Bhutiani's Oscar-shortlisted short film Kush (2013).

Diaspora Windows shares stories of Indian characters living outside India with highlights including Lena Khan’s The Tiger Hunter (2016) and Ruthy Pribar’s The Caregiver (2017). 

Richie Mehta's India In A Day (2016), Shonali Bose's Amu (2005), Devashish Makhija's short Taandav (2016), Tanuj Chopra’s Pia (2010) and Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya’s documentary The Hour of Lynching (2019)are new additions to IFFLA’s programming by their alumni.

The films will be available online either freely or via popular streaming services and can be accessed through the IFFLA website from 19 June to 5 July.  

The organisers also announced that the previously announced lineup of films for this year will be moved to 2021 so that filmmakers and audiences can join together and share the festival experience in person.