The Tenth Annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival, New York City’s premier Indian film festival, is scheduled for November 10-14, 2010 at venues across New York. The MIAAC Film Festival is the destination for feature films, documentaries, and shorts from and about the Indian subcontinent. Previous years’ enormously successful festivals have included the New York premiere of Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, which went on to garner critical and box office success all around the world; Indian filmmaker Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth; and many others.

The Mahindra Group makes significant contributions in the fields of art and culture and has partnered with the Indo American Arts Council (IAAC) for the fourth year in a row for this festival. “MIAAC is yet another way of giving back to the communities we operate in. Bringing thought provoking, independent Indian cinema to New York also provides a global platform to Indian talent – so that they can rise and get international acclaim”, says Anand Mahindra, Vice Chaiman & Managing Director, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd.

As in past years, the MIAAC Film Festival will feature a mix of film screenings, discussions on Indian cinema, industry panels geared specifically to film production in India, special events, nightly networking parties, an award ceremony and gala red-carpet opening and closing night events. MIAAC is a once-a-year opportunity to network with artists and leaders of the Indian film industry, meet celebrities, see the art of contemporary Indian cinema, and experience the rich film cultures of the Indian subcontinent.

Conceived in 1998, IAAC is dedicated to showcasing and celebrating artists of Indian origin in North America. “This year’s festival promises once again to be a heady mix of terrific films, stimulating conversations, and fabulous events,” says Aroon Shivdasani, IAAC’s Executive Director. “I am thrilled to work with our Film Festival Director, L.Somi Roy, to present an exciting five-day showcase of the best of Indian filmmaking.”

Film submissions are currently being collected from all over the world until an August 1 deadline. The festival’s glittering gala opening night event will take place at the Paris Theatre (4 W. 58th St.) on November 10, 2010. Festival screenings and panel discussions will take place over the next few days at the SVA Theatre (333 W. 23rd St.) in the heart of Chelsea.  A special gala closing night party and awards ceremony event will be held at the Walter Reade Theater at Lincoln Center on November 14. The year’s Festival Sidebar is a retrospective on the late Indian actress Smita Patil titled: “Bhumika – The Roles of Smita Patil,” which is co-presented with the Film Society of Lincoln Center. For more information about the entire festival, please visit www.miaac.us.