NEW YORK: The 14th Annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) was held in Manhattan last week, from May 5-10, and culminated in a pair of big wins for the film Liar's Dice.

The film, which is the directorial debut of Malayalee actress Geethu Mohandas, scored wins for Best Film and Best Actress, which was awarded to Geetanjali Thapa. Liar's Dice stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, of Talaash and The Lunchbox fame, as a free-spirited Army deserter who helps a young woman and her young daughter find the former's long-lost husband. The film was previously screened as part of the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section at the Sundance Film Festival in January, where it was warmly received.

Best Director went to Nagraj Manjule, for the Marathi film Fandry. The film is about a Dalit (low-caste) boy in India, who falls for a girl of a higher caste, and the complications that ensue from such a romance. The film has been heavily praised by US media outlets, with The Hollywood Reporter calling it "explosive" and NYIFF director Aseem Chhabra calling it the best Indian film of 2013.

Indian screen legend Naseeruddin Shah walked away with the prize for Best Actor, for his role in the film The Coffin Maker. Best Documentary went to Gulabi Gang (not to be confused with the Bollywood film Gulaab Gang). Best Short Film went to Blouse, and Best Screenplay was awarded to Kanyaka Talkies (Virgin Talkies), a Malayalee film that Forbes Magazine selected as one of the five must-watch Indian films of 2014.

NYIFF's opening and closing night films – Anurag Kashyap's Ugly and Aparna Sen's Goynar Baksho, respectively – were not feted with any awards at the festival, despite being the two highest-profile selections.