NYIFF 2017: Film Festival Kicks off its 17th Year in April!
By Urban Milan
March 15, 2017
March 15, 2017
(New York, NY - March 15, 2017) America's premier film festival representing the Indian subcontinent, New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), kicks off its 17th anniversary season on Sunday, April 30th, with Alankita Shrivastava's women's empowerment film LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA (watch trailer HERE), at the Smithsonian's National Museum of the American Indian (One Bowling Green, New York, NY 10004) in the Financial District. The film premiered at the Tokyo and Mumbai Film Festivals, where it won the Spirit of Asia Prize and the Oxfam Award for Best Film on Gender Equality. In January, India's Central Board of Film Certification refused to certify the film because it claimed the story was too "lady-oriented," so the film is currently banned in India. The red carpet reception for the New York premiere of the film will be followed by a gala benefit dinner, open to the general public. Tickets & tables are available HERE.
The festival's centerpiece film is the New York premiere of Khushboo Ranka and Vinay Shukla's critically-acclaimed documentary about India's Aam Aadmi Party activist Arvind Kejriwal called AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN (watch trailer HERE). After its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival in September of 2016, the film has traveled to multiple festivals around the world, including London, Busan and Mumbai, and makes a stop at NYIFF in May. |
The festival will close its programming on Sunday, May 7th, with the North American premiere of Milind Dhaimade's YOU ARE MY SUNDAY (watch trailer HERE), an uplifting, slice-of-life comedy about five close friends who struggle to find a place to play soccer in Mumbai every Sunday. The closing night screening will take place at Mason Hall on the Baruch College campus (17 Lexington Avenue at 23rd Street), and it will also be preceded by a red carpet reception for media interviews and followed by the NYIFF 2017 Award Ceremony and gala closing night party.
NYIFF's Sidebar Programming: In addition to the New York, North American and World Premieres of 44 shorts, documentaries and feature films over a week-long period, NYIFF is proud to present the following sidebar festival programming:
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is the oldest, most prestigious Indian film festival in the United States, screening premieres of feature, documentary and short films made from, of, and about the countries in the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan) in the Independent, arthouse, alternate and diaspora genres. Eight days of screenings, post-screening discussions, industry panels, an award ceremony, special events, nightly networking parties, red carpet galas, media attention and packed audiences build an awareness of Indian cinema, entertain & educate North Americans about the realities of the lives and people in the Indian Sub-Continent, and add to the amazing cultural diversity of New York City. NYIFF is the flagship event of the Indo-American Arts Council.
The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC): Founded in 1998, the Indo-American Arts Council is a secular, registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit, service and resource arts organization charged with the mission of promoting and building the awareness, creation, production, exhibition, publication and performance of Indian, subcontinental and cross-cultural art forms in North America. Our focus is to work with artists and arts organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists and arts organizations from India as well as other countries from the rest of the Indian sub-continent to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. The IAAC works passionately to become an integral part of the amazing cultural diversity of New York City and the United States. The IAAC supports all artistic disciplines int he classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of the Indian subcontinent. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the United States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. We do this thru events in the performing, visual, literary and folk arts: an annual film festival (NYIFF), an annual traveling art exhibition (Erasing Borders Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora), an annual dance festival (Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance), an annual literary festival (IAAC Literary Festival) and a myriad of dance, music, theatre, film and literary events throughout the year. For further information please visit www.iaac.us.
NYIFF's Sidebar Programming: In addition to the New York, North American and World Premieres of 44 shorts, documentaries and feature films over a week-long period, NYIFF is proud to present the following sidebar festival programming:
- Sibling Filmmakers: Deepa Mehta & Dilip Mehta present their respective New York Premieres of ANATOMY OF VIOLENCE and MOSTLY SUNNY on Saturday, May 6th. Both films' world premieres took place at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016.
- Om Puri Tribute: A DEATH IN THE GUNJ, directed by Konkona Sen Sharma, pays tribute to the late Om Puri, one of India's most versatile character actors who starred in more than 147 films during his illustrious career; he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India in 1990. NYIFF Screening on Monday, May 1st.
- Priyanka Produces: VENTILATOR and SARVAAN, produced by actor Priyanka Chopra - NYIFF Screenings on Thursday, May 4th.
- Mobile Bollywood: One Minute Cell Phone Films (NYU Tisch Cinema Studies students)
- SHOOT A SHORT FILM: Workshop by National Award-Winning Filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni - May 5th & 6th
- Industry Panels (May 4th) & Networking After-Parties all week long
The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is the oldest, most prestigious Indian film festival in the United States, screening premieres of feature, documentary and short films made from, of, and about the countries in the Indian subcontinent (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Afghanistan) in the Independent, arthouse, alternate and diaspora genres. Eight days of screenings, post-screening discussions, industry panels, an award ceremony, special events, nightly networking parties, red carpet galas, media attention and packed audiences build an awareness of Indian cinema, entertain & educate North Americans about the realities of the lives and people in the Indian Sub-Continent, and add to the amazing cultural diversity of New York City. NYIFF is the flagship event of the Indo-American Arts Council.
The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC): Founded in 1998, the Indo-American Arts Council is a secular, registered 501(c)3 not-for-profit, service and resource arts organization charged with the mission of promoting and building the awareness, creation, production, exhibition, publication and performance of Indian, subcontinental and cross-cultural art forms in North America. Our focus is to work with artists and arts organizations in North America as well as to facilitate artists and arts organizations from India as well as other countries from the rest of the Indian sub-continent to exhibit, perform and produce their work here. The IAAC works passionately to become an integral part of the amazing cultural diversity of New York City and the United States. The IAAC supports all artistic disciplines int he classical, fusion, folk and innovative forms influenced by the arts of the Indian subcontinent. We work cooperatively with colleagues around the United States to broaden our collective audiences and to create a network for shared information, resources and funding. We do this thru events in the performing, visual, literary and folk arts: an annual film festival (NYIFF), an annual traveling art exhibition (Erasing Borders Exhibition of Contemporary Indian Art of the Diaspora), an annual dance festival (Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance), an annual literary festival (IAAC Literary Festival) and a myriad of dance, music, theatre, film and literary events throughout the year. For further information please visit www.iaac.us.