NEW DELHI -- The 11th New York Indian Film Festival closed Sunday night where Bengali film Sthaniya Sambaad (Spring in the Colony), directed by Arjun Gourisaria and Moinak Biswas, winning Best Feature.

Organized by the Indo-American Arts Council, NYIFF was held May 4-8 in Manhattan and opened with Walt Disney India's first Hindi live action feature, Do Dooni Chaar (Two Times Two Is Four) and closed with Bengali film Noukadabi.

Aparna Sen picked up best director for her Bengali film Iti Mrinalini featuring Sen and her daughter Konkona Sen Sharma – who won best actress -- both playing the same title role at different ages.

Veteran Bollywood star Rishi Kapoor won best actor for his turn as a Delhi-based school teacher in comic caper Do Dooni Chaar. Best screenplay went to Mohan Raghavan for T.D. Dasan Std. VI B, which revolves around a young boy trying to bond with his father. Best documentary went to Bhopali by Max Carlson while best short film went to Just That Sort Of A Day by Abhay Kumar.

This year's festival also announced three partnerships with film schools in New York and India which include Mumbai-based Whistling Woods International, The Department of Cinema Studies at Tisch, NYU, and the New York Film Academy.

Created in 2001 in the wake of the September 11 attacks on New York City, the IAAC's film festival was started to create a better understanding of the people and stories from the Indian subcontinent by showcasing acclaimed feature films, shorts, and documentaries from that region and its diaspora.