Message from the Festival Director, Aseem Chhabra:
“The Covid-19 situation in India is heartbreaking and our thoughts and prayers are with those who have lost their loved ones.” said Aseem Chhabra, NYIFF Festival Director. “But we made a promise to our audience in the United States and elsewhere. The show must go on. We present the best of Indian cinema from 2020 and 2021.”
“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,” – Aseem Chhabra, NYIFF Director
“The caliber of films on the 2021 lineup includes notable works by award-winning filmmakers, which aim to capture stories that have a truly profound message about our world today. These films have received exceptional praise from critics and audiences around the globe.” – Suman Gollamudi, IAAC Exec. Director
THE NEW YORK INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL (NYIFF)
CELEBRATES BIRTH ANNIVERSARIES OF INDIA’S ICONSM GANDHI, S RAY & SC BOSE
58 FILMS, 15 LANGUAGES, Q&A WITH FILMMAKERS
VIRTUAL EVENT, JUNE 4-13, 2021
AWARD NOMINATIONS ANNOUNCED
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), North America’s oldest and most prestigious annual film festival, features cinema from India and the Indian Diaspora. The festival runs June 4-13, 2021. Films are available for pre-order.
NYIFF celebrates its 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. Twenty-four-hour online support will be provided by MovieSaints to ensure audiences across three continents have a seamless experience throughout the duration of the festival.
Presented virtually for the second year in a row, the festival features 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 personalities from the film industry. The films cover 15 languages spoken in India: Assamese, Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Nepali, Oriya, Punjabi, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu. All films have English subtitles.
“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,” Aseem Chhabra said.
Films screened at NYIFF 2020 won six National Awards, the most prominent film awards ceremony in India. This year, NYIFF 2021 is delighted to bring to the audience National Awards-winning films:
“Khisa” for “Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director”
“Sonsi” for “Best Cinematography Non-Feature Film”
“Biryaani” which received “Special Mention”
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
TICKETS
Ticket prices (in local currencies, except India) differ for Feature Films (narrative and documentaries) and for Shorts. Individual tickets and discount packages are available. For more information, visit nyiff.us/ticket
Watch the trailer: youtu.be/UjWdNtov6U8
OPENING FILM
“Where is Pinki” / Pinki Elli (Kannada) l dir. Prithvi Konanur
A hard-hitting social commentary on contemporary Indian society and female identity.
“Where Is Pinki,” the social thriller praised at the IFF in Goa, is a complex tale of everyday people. Bindu and Girish, whose eight-month-old baby goes missing, becomes a frantic effort of search that forces the couple to confront strange places, people and situations that require each of them to reconcile their past, present and future. The entire film was shot using a handheld camera.
CENTERPIECE 1
“Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless” (English), dir. Ramesh Sharma
“Ahimsa Gandhi: The Power of the Powerless,” by award-winning filmmaker, Ramesh Sharma. On October 2, 2019, the world commemorated the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This inspired the filmmaker to revisit the icon’s life and philosophy that still endures today. Shot in India, South Africa, the U.S. and Europe, the film tracks the influence of Gandhi’s non-violence approach on world leaders from Martin Luther King Jr. to the late Congressman John Lewis, Lech Walesa, Nelson Mandela, Vaclav Havel and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. With new voices joining the global dialogue about injustice and systemic racism and the resurgence of nationalism in cities like Hong Kong, the documentary has been hailed as a timely reminder about non-violence movement.
CENTERPIECE 2
“WOMB: Women of my Billion” (English, Hindi, Tamil, Telugu), dir. Ajitesh Sharma, features Srishti Bakshi
“WOMB: Women of My Billion” is a heart-wrenching and heart-warming narrative of the plight, dreams, rights and fight against all forms of violence, that unify the women of today’s India. The film sees through the lens of a UN Women Champion of Change and Commonwealth Points of Light award winner and activist, Srishti Bakshi, at the fore of her on-foot journey of 3800km over 240 days, from Kanyakumari (South India) to Kashmir (North India) in 2018. The film stands as a crucial testament to the crisis which has only aggravated in these unprecedented times of COVID.
CLOSING FILM
“….like ‘Pather Panchali’ in the age of AirBnb and TikTok, “Fire in the Mountains” empathetically dramatizes the struggles that locals face in a place where tourists come to play.”- IndieWire
“Fire in the Mountains” (Hindi), dir. Ajitpal Singh
“Fire in the Mountains,” the debut narrative film from writer-director Ajitpal Singh, tells the striking tale of Chandra and her husband, Dharam, who run an inn that hovers high above the only road in a small Himalayan village. The terrain poses a problem for the family, who must transport their son, Prakash, down the mountain in his wheelchair for doctors and school. The film is a searing portrait of the power dynamics at play between tradition and modernity.
For the complete lineup of films and more information, visit nyiff.us
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ASIAN PACIFIC AMERICANCELEBRATIONS
By Mabel Pais
From FTH – CTAAF: Animation Shorts
“Crazy Talented Asians & Friends: An Evening of Animation Shorts,” showcasing a wide range of animated short films by Asian and Asian American artists, returns on Saturday, May 29 at 6:00 PM (ET), Flushing Town Hall (FTH) to celebrate APA Heritage Month. The films present a wide range of stories and experiences, as diverse as the APA community itself, through masterful storytelling, art direction, animation, production, and sound design. There will be a live Q&A with artists following the screenings. To learn more and RSVP, visit flushingtownhall.org/crazy-talented-asians-friends-animation-shorts
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From NJPAC –
PORTRAITS: Asian-American Allyship
Through song and poetry, through jazz and modern dance, Asian Americans and their allies in the struggle for social justice confront the history of racism in America and summon the unity necessary to move us all forward. Hear their call for justice, see their passion for the fight for equality, and witness their vision of a more inclusive future. For more information and tune in, visit njpac.org/event/portraits-asian-american-allyship-through-the-arts
(Mabel Pais writes on Social Issues, The Arts and Entertainment, Spirituality, and Health & Wellness)