The women vary in ages from mid-teens to old, and initially have little in common. But the events of the day lead them to better mutual understanding and solidarity.

NYIFF will also feature a retrospective of Chadha's documentaries, co-presented by Third World Newsreel.

The featured documentaries include: "Acting Our Age", "I'm British But", "A Nice Arrangement", and "What Do You Call An Indian Woman Who Is Funny?"

"Gurinder Chadha is one of three 'Bhanji Brigade' (coined by Mira Nair) super star diaspora women filmmakers - the other two being Mira Nair and Deepa Mehta - all three of whom have been honoured for their talent by NYIFF in years past," said IAAC executive director Aroon Shivdasani.

Film festival director Aseem Chhabra added: "Gurinder explores the Asian Indian immigrant experiences in Britain, laced with humour, pathos and a lot of introspection.

"Her works are iconic representation that speak about immigration, living in the Diaspora, and the meaning of loss."

Another annual feature at NYIFF is the one minute cell phone films, sponsored by NYU Tisch Cinema Studies.

In addition, NYIFF will present a full day of industry panels exploring in depth such topics as distribution, production and financing in a global market, and will showcase experts in the film industry.