EXPLORING THE BEST OF INDIAN CINEMA:NEW YORK INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OFFERS A FRESH PERSPECTIVE ON CONTEMPORARY INDIAN CINEMA

Unveils Full 2023 Lineup of In-person Event Featuring 35 Narrative, Documentary and Short Films 

NEW YORK, NY – The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), North America’s most prestigious festival featuring cinema from the global India community has announced the full line-up for the 23rd edition which runs May 11-14 in New York City. This year’s festival lineup features 35 films that showcase the depth and range of contemporary Indian cinema, including cutting-edge dramas, documentaries, and shorts. The opening and other films will screen at Village East by Angelika, 181 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10003. The closing night film screening, followed by the awards function will be held at SVA Theatre, 333 West 23rd Street, New York, NY 10011.

“NYIFF is a must-watch event for anyone interested in Indian cinema and its growing impact on global cinema. It offers a unique opportunity to explore and appreciate the diverse cinematic voices emerging from India today, “ said Dr. Nirmal Mattoo, Chairman of the Indo-American Arts Council, the organization that presents the film festival.

“As we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander(AAPI) Heritage Month in May, the New York Indian Film Festival provides an ideal opportunity for audiences to experience the best of Indian cinema and gain a deeper understanding of the rich cultural heritage of AAPI communities and appreciate the unique perspectives that they bring to the world of cinema," said Suman Gollamudi, Executive Director.

In addition to the previously announced opening and closing films, this year’s NYIFF will also feature a special world premiere screening of a new Hindi language film Bandaa starring Manoj Bajpayee. Five filmmakers present their debut features, while the festival also includes works by Indian-British and Indian-Canadian directors. Several well-known Indian film personalities will be featured in a wide array of works, including:

• Opening Film leads Shefali Shah (DelhiCrime/Netflix), Jaideep Ahlawat (Pataal Lok/Prime Video) and Swanand Kirkire
• Closing Film leads Kalki Koechlin (Margarita with a Straw) and Deepti Naval
• Sharmila Tagore (Legendary Actress who worked in Satyajit Ray’s film, including The World of Apu), Manoj Bajpayee (Gangs of Wasseypur, Family Man, Satya, Aligarh) and Suraj Sharma (Life of Pi) in a special screening of Gulmohar. 
• Adil Hussain (Life of Pi) and Namisha Sajayan in Footprints on Water.
• Radhika Madan (Kuttey/Netflix) and Pooja Bhatt (Bombay Begums/Netflix) in Sanaa.
• Arjun Radhakrishnan in Vaat.
• Prasenjit Chatterjee in Shesh Pata.
• Anupam Kher (The Big Sick, New Amsterdam and Hotel Mumbai), Danish Husain and Zarina Wahab in a narrative short Retake.
• Rajit Kapoor in the narrative short Birha.

“We aim 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 ten languages spoken in India: Bengali, English, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri, Malayalam, Marathi, Nagpuri, Punjabi, Tamil. 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.

'The festival promises to offer a fresh perspective on Indian cinema, with many of the films tackling complex social issues with nuance and sensitivity. This year’s festival will also highlight the work of several emerging and established female filmmakers, who are pushing the boundaries of Indian cinema and redefining the role of women in the industry. I strongly encourage audiences to attend the New York Indian Film Festival, and explore the exciting and innovative cinema that is coming out of India today,” said Rakesh Kaul, IAAC Vice Chairman.

Ticket prices are $20 for regular film programs and $50 for opening and closing films. Tickets will be on sale at nyiff.us or at Eventbrite

Feature Narrative Films

-- Bandaa (Hindi), dir. Apoorv Singh Karki, 138 mins., 2023

-- Follower (Hindi, Kannada, Marathi), dir. Harshad Nalawade, 99 mins., 2022

-- Footprints on Water (English, Malayalam, Tamil, Polish), dir. Nathalia Syam, 110 mins., 2022

-- Goldfish (English), Pushsan Kriplani, 101 mins., 2022

-- Gulmohar (Special screening) (Hindi), dir. Rahul Chittella, 132 mins., 2022

-- Mushroom (Bengali) dir. Samik Roy Choudhury, 64 mins., 2022

-- Opium (Hindi), dir. Aman Sachdeva, 75 mins., 2022

-- Pokhar ke Dunu Paar (Hindi), dir. Parth Saurabh, 104 mins., 2022

-- Sanaa (Hindi), dir. Sudhanshu Saria, 117 mins., 2022

-- Saudi Vellakka (Malayalam), dir. Tharun Moorthy, 134 mins., 2022

-- Hadinelentu (Seventeeners), dir. Prithvi Konanur, 122 mins., 2022

-- Shesh Pata (Bengali), dir. Atanu Ghosh, 120 mins., 2022

-- Siya (Hindi), dir. Manish Mundra,108 mins., 2022

-- Three of Us (Hindi), dir. Avinash Arun Dhaware, 98 mins., 2021

-- Vaat (Marathi), dr. Miransha Naik, 75 mins., 2022

Feature Documentaries

-- Call Me Dancer (Special screening) (Hindi, English), dir. Leslie Shampaine, 84 mins., 2022

-- Colonel Kalsi (English), dir. Geeta Gandbhir, Anand Kamalkar, 40 mins., 2022

-- To Kill a Tiger (Hindi, Nagpuri), dir. Nisha Pahuja, 125 mins., 2022

-- Urf (AKA) (Hindi), dir. Geetika Narag Abassi, 120 mins., 2022

Short Narratives

Shorts A (narrative) Program:

-- Retake, dir. Shweta Basu Prasad (Hindi), 28 mins., 2023

-- Running, dir. Arpita Mukherjee (English), 40 mins., 2022

-- One Small Visit, dir. Jo Chim (English), 30 mins., 2022

-- Outside Chance, dir. Michael Das (English), 11 mins., 2022

-- The Name, dir. Aaron Strand (English), 7 mins, 2022

Other narrative shorts, showing with features:

-- Birha - The Journey Back Home (showing with Vaat) (Punjabi), dir. Puneet Prakash Pandey, 25 mins., 2021

-- Chithi (showing with Mushroom) (Bengali), dir. Pubali Chaudhuri, 22 min., 2023

-- Little Wings (showing with Mushroom) (Tamil) dir. Nveen Mu, 21 mins., 2022

-- My Father’s Doctor (showing with Mushroom) (Kashmiri), dir. Danish Renzu, 18 mins., 2023

-- Preet (showing with Opium) (Hindi), dir. Jayesh Jaidka, 22 mins, 2022

-- Wagro (showing with Vaat) (Marathi), dir. Sainath Somnath Uskaikar, 10 mins., 2022

Shorts B (documentaries) Program:

-- Basti, dir. Parinaz Jal (English, Hindi, Kannada), 36 mins., 2021

-- Gopi, dir. Nishanth Gurumurthy (Kannada), 14 mins., 2022

-- Letters to My Grandma, dir. Divya Hemant Kharnare (Marathi), 26 mins., 2023

-- Raat: Night Time in Small Town India, dir. Third Eye Offline (English), 34 mins., 2022

Other short documentaries, showing with features:

-- Bring it to the People (showing with Colonel Kalsi) (English), dir. Luis Palomino, 35 mins., 2022

-- Kurosawa’s Grave (showing with Urf) (English) dir. Ben Lopez, 14 mins., 2021