Highly Anticipated New York Indian Film Festival 2021 Begins
With the Hollywood push for diversity in film in recent years, there are several organziations making their mark.
A New York-based film festival may offer inspiration for its industry peers in answering calls for greater diversity and cultural representation in Hollywood. The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), North America’s oldest and most prestigious film festival which features cinema from India, and the Indian Diaspora, began Friday, June 2021. The festival highlights some the top independent filmmakers in the world.
Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council, Inc. (IAAC), and powered by MovieSaints, NYIFF celebrates the 21st year of independent, art house, alternate cinema from India and brings this rich collection of films to audiences in the U.S. and North America. Some films will also stream globally. Also, 24-hour online support will be provided by MovieSaints to ensure audiences across three continents have a seamless experience throughout the duration of the festival.
“Last year, we had to reimagine the film festival in a virtual format, and it involved pivoting to an online platform. We emerged stronger with a larger footprint as global audiences engaged with the films,” said Suman Gollamudi, IAAC Executive Director. “This year, with the pandemic creating even more distress, we feel a greater responsibility to provide filmmakers an outlet to showcase their work. Plus, offer audiences hope through cinematic stories that give meaning, form and shape to lift our emotions.”
Presented virtually for the second year in a row, the festival will feature 58 screenings (23 narrative features, 8 documentary features and 27 short films). The lineup will include worldwide, globally outside of India, the U.S. and NY premieres. Screenings will be followed by post-screening discussions with the filmmakers and acclaimed and celebrated personalities from the film industry.
“We aimed to truly underscore the NYIFF commitment to diversity and cultural representation in film,” said Aseem Chhabra, NYIFF Festival Director. “This year, we will feature films in 15 languages spoken in India: Assamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, 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.
Films screened at NYIFF 2020 went out to win six National Awards, the most prominent film awards ceremony in India. This year, at NYIFF 2021, we are delighted to bring to you the following films that won National Awards:
Khisa for “Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director”
Sonsi for “Best Cinematography Non-Feature Film”
Biryaani which received “Special Mention”
Many of the films being shown at the festival have won accolades at leading international film festivals. Nasir won the NETPAC Award at the Rotterdam International Film Festival and Sthalpuran won the Young Cinema Award at the Asian Pacific Screen Awards. Apart from these, we are proud to present to our audience, films that have played at Berlinale, Sundance Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival and Rotterdam International Film Festival, among others.
“For the first time, the 2021 lineup truly reflects the incredible diversity of Indian cinematic creativity,” said Dr. Nirmal Mattoo, Chairman IAAC. “This standout collection of films introduces new voices, fresh perspectives and original storytelling, which enhances the NYIFF curatorial legacy of spotlighting movies that go on to receive critical global acclaim.”
“In addition, we will be unveiling a newly designed award in 2021,” continued Mattoo. “Conceived and created by IAAC Board Member and sculptor, Raj Shahani, this iconic award will epitomize the excellence that NYIFF seeks to foster with its annual awards presentation.”
Each of these films along with the complete collection of NYIFF-recognized titles will be available for viewing starting June 4, 2021, at nyiff.us and nyiff.moviesaints.com. The cost to view each film ranges from US$4.99 for feature films (narrative and documentaries) and US$0.99 for shorts. Audiences outside the U.S., excluding India, can pay in their local currencies. In India, the cost will be Rs.150 for features and shorts starting at Rs. 50. There are also discount packages available.
Feature Narratives
Awakash (Marathi), dir. Chittaranjan Giri, 77 mins, 2020
Biryaani (Malayalam), dir. Sajin Baabu, 96 mins, 2020
Blue Bird (Kannada), dir. Ganesh Hegde, 106 mins, 2020
Fire in the Mountains (Hindi), dir. Ajitpal Singh, 82 mins, 2020
First Night (Tamil), dir. Jack Prabhu, Santoshh KK, 106 mins, 2020
Freddie’s Piano (English), dir. Aakash Prabhakar, Sudharshan Narayanan, 110 mins, 2020
God on the Balcony (Assamese), dir. Biswajeet Bora, 89 mins, 2020
Habaddi (Marathi), dir. Nachiket Samant, 110 mins, 2020
House of Orange Trees (Malayalam), dir. Dr. Biju Damodaran, 110 mins, 2020
June (Marathi), dir. Vaibhav Khisti, Suhrud Godbole, 94 mins, 2020
Mail (Telugu), dir. Uday Gurrala, 116 mins, 2020
Nasir (Tamil), dir. Arun Karthick, 78 mins, 2019
Nazarband (Captive) (Hindi), dir. Suman Mukhopadhyay, 85 mins, 2020
Parallel Lines (Kayamai Kadakka) (Tamil), dir. Kiran R, 104 mins, 2020
Parcel (Bengali), dir. Indrasis Acharya, 123 mins, 2020
Pinki Elli? (Where’s Pinki?) (Kannada), dir. Prithvi Konanur, 108 mins, 2020
Searching for Happiness (Bengali) dir. Suman Ghosh, 63 mins, 2021
Songs for Rain (Boroxun) (Assamese), dir. Krrishna Kt. Borah, 86 mins, 2020
Sthalpuran (Marathi), dir. Akshay Indikar, 85 mins, 2020
The Chicken Curry (Koli Taal) (Kannada), dir. Abhilash Shetty, 84 mins, 2020
The Tenant (English, Hindi), dir. Sushrat Jain, 112 mins, 2020
The Knot (Uljhan) (Hindi), dir. Ashish Pant, 113 mins, 2020
Zollywood (Marathi), dir. Trushant Ingle, 95 mins, 2019
Feature Documentaries
Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless (English), dir. Ramesh Sharma, 92 mins, 2020
Borderlands (Punjabi, Bengali, Nepali, Manipuri), dir. Samarth Mahajan, 67 mins, 2021
Ghar Ka Pata (Home Address) (English, Hindi, Kashmiri), dir. Madhulika Jalali, 67 mins, 2020
Shut Up Sona (English, Hindi, Oriya), dir. Deepti Gupta, 85 mins. 2019
Talking Head (English, Bengali), dir. Spandan Banerjee, 94 mins, 2021
The Music of Satyajit Ray (English, Bengali), dir. Utpalendu Chakrabarty, 51 mins, 1984
The Space Between the Notes (English, Hindi), dir. Sumantra Ghosal, 52 mins, 2018
WOMB: Women of my Billions dir. Ajitesh Sharma (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), 103 mins, 2021
Short Narratives
Adhura (Unfinished) (Hindi), dir. Arjun Lal, 19 mins, 2020
Annual Day (Salana Jalsa) (Marathi), dir. Pratik Thakare, 30 mins, 2020
Appa’s Seasons (Tamil), dir. Radhika Prasidhha, 22 mins, 2020
B. Selvi & Daughters (Tamil), dir. Drishya, 25 mins, 2020
Checking Out (English), dir. Vick Krishna, 15 mins, 2020
Happy Birthday (Hindi), dir. Ajay Kishore Shaw, 20 mins, 2020
Khayali Pulao (Hindi), dir. Tarun Dudeja, 26 mins, 2020
Khisa (Pocket) (Marathi), dir. Raj Pritam More, 16 mins, 2020
Kurma (English, Hindi), dir. Ramsee Chand, 18 mins, 2020
Laali (Hindi), dir. Abhiroop Basu, 30 mins, 2020
Loose Long Shirt (English), dir. Mitali Joshi, 6 mins, 2020
My Brother (Mera Bhai) (Hindi), dir. Shreela Agarwal, 22 mins, 2020
Naap (Hindi), dir. Harshit Acharya, 18 mins, 2020
Now That We’ve Met (English), dir. Nitya Turaga, 5 mins, 2020
Pilibhit (Hindi), dir. Ashutosh Chaturvedi, Pankaj Mavchi, 23 mins, 2020
Pinni (Kannada), dir. Bhuvan Sathya, 20 mins, 2020
Sonsi (Shadow Bird) (Hindi) dir. Savita Singh, 26 mins, 2020
Sunday (Hindi), dir. Arun Fulara, 10 mins, 2020
Tasher Ghawr (English), dir. Sudipto Roy, 47 mins, 2020
The Miniaturist of Junagarh (Hindi, Urdu), dir. Kaushal Oza, 29 mins, 2020
Untouchability (Theetu) (Tamil), dir. Haresh Narayanan, 7 mins, 2020
Vulture (Xogun) (Assamese), dir. Utpal Borpujari, 16 mins, 2020
Short Documentaries
At the Altar of India’s Freedom – INA Veterans in Malaysia (English) dir. Choodie Shivaram, 30 mins, 2018
Baluji (English), dir. Cécile Embleton, 22 mins, 2020
Seva (English), dir. Rippin Sindher, 16 mins, 2019
The Hero Within (Hindi), dir. Stanley Hector, 7 mins, 2021
What’s Your Story? (English), dir. O.P. Srivastava, 51 mins, 2020
Best Film
Fire in the Mountains
June
Nasir
Pinki Eli?/ Where is Pinki?
Sthalpuran
Best Director
Ajit Pal Singh ( Fire in the Mountains )
Akshay Indikar ( Sthalpuran )
Arun Karthik ( Nasir )
Krishna Kt. Borah ( Songs for the Rain )
Suman Mukhopadhaya ( Nazarband )
Best Screenplay
Biryaani
Mail
Pinki Eli?/ Where is Pinki?
The Chicken Curry/ Koli Taal
The Knot/ Uljhan
Best Actor
Deep Jyoti Kalita ( Songs for the Rain )
Harish Khanna ( God on the Balcony )
Siddharth Menon ( June )
Tanmay Dhanania ( Nazarband )
Vikas Kumar ( The Knot/ Uljhan )
Best Actress
Akshatha Pandavapura ( Pinki Eli?/ Where is Pinki? )
Ashwini Giri ( Awakash )
Indira Tiwari ( Nazarband )
Kani Kusruti ( Biryanni )
Vinamrata Rai ( Fire in the Mountain )
Best Child Actor
Aman S. Karkera ( Blue Bird )
Karan Dave ( Habaddi )
Neel Deshmukh ( Sthalpuran )
Porinandhi Jima Sultana ( God on the Balcony )
Rudraksh Jaiswal ( The Tenant )
Best Short (Narrative)
Annual Day
B. Selvi & Daughters
Tasher Ghawr
Sonsi
Sunday
The Miniaturist of Junagardh
Best Short (Documentary)
Baluji
Seva
The Hero Within
Best Documentary
Ahimsa
WOMB: Women of my Billion
The Space Between the Notes
Shut Up Sona
Talking Head
This year’s nominations were chosen by a prestigious panel of filmmakers and will be judged by artists and media professionals. The winners will be announced as part of the closing event on June 13, 2021.
About The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF):
NYIFF is the oldest, most prestigious film festival screening premieres of feature, documentary and short films made from, of, and about India in the independent, art house, alternate and diaspora genres. Ten days of screenings, post-screening discussions, industry panels, award ceremonies, special events, nightly networking parties, red carpet galas, media attention and packed audiences build an awareness of Indian cinema, entertain and educate North Americans about the real India, and add to the amazing cultural diversity of New York City. For more information, please visit the website at nyiff.us and at nyiff.moviesaints.com.
About Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC):
The IAAC supports all the artistic disciplines in classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of India. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the U.S. to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. Our focus is to help artists and art organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists from India to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. The IAAC is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. All donations are tax-deductible to the fullest extent allowable by law. For information, please visit www.iaac.us.
About MovieSaints:
MovieSaints is a comprehensive technology service provider for indie filmmakers and festivals. For indie films it offers solutions like secured global releases, a fundraising platform, secure storage and screener delivery services, etc. For festivals and film clubs it offers a customized, global virtual venue to host all sorts of film related events. Its Integrated Technology Suite includes secured streaming with foolproof piracy tracking, zone blocking for simultaneous online and offline releases, educational and corporate screenings, live Q&As, flexible pricing in over 100 countries, etc. For more information, please visit https://www.moviesaints.com.
Contact Details
Indo-American Arts Council
Suman Gollamudi
Indo-American Arts Council
Media Contact
Company Website
Photo credit: NYIFF
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