The 22nd edition of the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) will take place virtually from 1–14 May 2022. A closing night film screening and the awards presentation will be held in person at the Village East Cinemas, New York, on 14 May.
Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council, Inc. (IAAC), NYIFF celebrates alternative, independent cinema from the global Indian community and brings this collection of films to a New York audience. Being held virtually for the third year in a row, the festival will feature 60 screenings in all, which includes 18 feature narratives, six documentaries and 36 short films.
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“For two years now, we have offered virtual streaming of films, providing filmmakers with even more outlets to showcase their work. We emerged stronger with a larger footprint as global audiences engaged with the films,” said Suman Gollamudi, IAAC executive director. “This year, we are excited to offer an in-person closing event and awards ceremony on 14 May in New York.”
Mihir Fadnavis’s Lords Of Lockdown, Manish Saini’s Gandhi & Co., Biswajeet Bora’s Boomba Ride, Nikhil Mahajan’s Godavari and Natesh Hedge’s Pedro are among the features that will be screened at the festival, along with Aditya Vikram Sengupta’s Once Upon A Time In Calcutta, Kuldip Patel’s Powai, Tara Ramanujan’s Nishiddho and Ranjan Ghosh’s Mahishasur Marddini. Faraz Ali’s Shoebox, which explores a young woman’s complex relationship with her father as the world around them changes drastically, will be the second centrepiece film at the festival.
The documentaries include 15 Seconds A Lifetime by Divya Kharnare, If Memory Serves Me Right by Rafeeq Ellias, Kaifinama by Sumatra Ghosal, Lords Of Lockdown by Fadnavis, Taangh/Longing by Bani Singh, and The Beatles And India by Ajoy Bose and Peter Compton.
Amongst the shorts are Arjun, directed by Shivraj Waichal, Kiss by Varun Grover, Raavi by Jasmine Kaur Roy, Nafs Said by Huma Hussain and two films by Devashish Makhija. Cycle and Cheepatakadumpa. A first for NYIFF will be the screening of a Sanskrit-language film, Bhagavadajjukam, directed by Yadu Vijayakrishnan.
“We aim to underscore the NYIFF commitment to diversity and cultural representation in film,” said festival director and well-known author and journalist Aseem Chhabra. “This year, we will feature films in 13 languages spoken in India: Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. All films will have English subtitles.
“NYIFF’s mission is to provide filmmakers, actors and industry professionals a platform to showcase their work as well as foster an environment where filmmakers exchange ideas and interact with discerning and diverse audiences, journalists and aficionados,” Chhabra added.