NYIFF2017-SCREENING SCHEDULE

Festival Pass: $250 general admission; $200 IAAC members.
Includes all regular screenings and special events, Centerpiece and Closing Night screenings & parties.
Does not include Opening Night & Shoot-a-Short Workshop.

Monday, May 1, 6.00 pm. Theater 2, Village East, NYC.

Doctor Rakhmabai
New York City Premiere
2017 | India | 124 mins | Marathi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Ananth Mahadevan
Cast - Tannishtha Chatterjee, Prasad Oak, Santosh Juvekar, Kavita Medhekar, Bharat Dabholkar, Alex o’ Neil, Elena Kazan, Aditi Sarangekar

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/206004039?ref=em-share

Synopsis: Towards the end of the nineteenth century, around 1880, a revolutionary new force, that surprisingly emanated from the mind of a 20 year old girl, impacted Indian society like a thunderbolt and hasn’t diminished till today. Young Rakhmabai Raut was unaware that she would make history as India’s first practicing lady doctor, when she diligently followed her stepfather Dr Sakharam Arjun’s lessons to educate herself, much against the norms of the time. It was a move that shook up a lot of people in a conservative, orthodox society. What followed was a bigger upheaval, what became “the most shocking news of the time”. Young Rakhmabai refused to live with her husband, raising a storm of dust that ended up as a battle in the High Court of Bombay [then] under a British judge. In what threatened to change existing Hindu marriage laws and spark off a social upheaval on child marriage and abuse, Rakhmabai stood steadfast in her intentions and despite losing the case refused to bend down to her imbecile husband. Rakhmabai’s dream of obtaining a medical degree wasn’t easy to fulfill.

About the Director: ANANTH NARAYAN MAHADEVAN is a prominent media personality in India actively involved as actor-writer-editor and director in theatre, television, commercials and feature films. As feature film Director, he has just completed his 15th feature. His Marathi film I am Sindhutai Sapkal won 4 Indian National Film Awards [including Film, Screenplay, Dialogue and Singer] and the award for Best Director in the Maharashtra State Awards. Amongst the films that have received worldwide acclaim are Staying Alive, Red Alert - The War Within [a true story of the Naxal uprising in India] , Gour Hari Dastaan - The Freedom File, a biopic on India’s oldest living freedom fighter who fought for 35 years for his identity, and Rough Book, a film that took the Indian education systems by the horns. Ananth also has an illustrious career in Theatre & Television in India.

Monday, May 1, 6.15 pm. Theater 3, Village East, NYC.

Poorna
New York City Premiere
2017 | India | 104 min | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Rahul Bose
Cast - Aditi Inamdar, Rahul Bose, S. Mariya

Trailer: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5cx2hd

Synopsis: Poorna(13), who comes from a poor tribal family of agricultural laborers in a village in Telangana, spends most of her time with her older cousin, Priya. Rather than being allowed to study, the two girls spend their days sweeping the school grounds as their parents haven’t been able to pay their fees.

Priya suggests that the two of them run away and apply to a government run social welfare residential school but Priya’s father catches the girls during their attempt to escape. The older Priya is then married off, while Poorna’s father eventually agrees to send Poorna to a social welfare school for a year so he can find her a husband in the meantime.

Praveen Kumar, is a compassionate but no-nonsense IPS officer whose own beginnings were very humble. He now applies for and becomes, the Secretary of Social Welfare. Praveen kicks off many innovative projects at the social welfare schools. One day the students are taken to Bhongir for rock climbing lessons, and Poorna and Anand (17), clearly emerge as frontrunners in this class. A number of students are shortlisted for the expedition, and are sent to the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute at Darjeeling to prepare.

There the top two candidates, Poorna and Anand are selected for Operation Everest. Meanwhile, Priya, pregnant with twins, dies during childbirth. Poorna goes through an emotional breakdown, but eventually decides to climb anyway. Praveen tries to convince Poorna that it is best if she turns around and comes back, but Poorna insists on continuing. Her mind overcomes her body, and through a combination of pride, courage and willpower, she ultimately becomes the youngest girl ever to summit Everest.

Poorna and Anand have created a renewed world of self-esteem and hope. Praveen's sabbatical from the IPS is over and he greets Poorna in uniform, as both realize life will never be the same again for them.

About the Director: Described as the ‘Indian art house icon’, by TIME magazine, Rahul Bose won the Best Actor award at the Singapore Film Festival in 2000 for his performance in Split Wide Open. Having started his directorial career on the stage with the path breaking Seascape With Sharks and Dancer in 1996, Rahul ‘s film debut as both, a writer and director was Everybody Say’s I’m Fine! in 2002, for which at the Palm Springs Festival he was awarded the runner-up prize, the John Schlesinger award for Best Debut Director. Formed in 2006, his NGO, ‘The Foundation’, works with children from underserved areas of India, and his second NGO, HEAL works with survivors of child sexual abuse. In 2009, he was voted the Indian Youth Icon of the Year - Social Justice. In 2010, he was awarded the Green Globe award for his work on climate change. In 2012 he was awarded NDTV’s Celebrity Sports Activist of the Year. In the same year, on India’s Independence Day, Rahul was conferred the Lt. Governor’s Commendation Award for Services to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. In 2013 he was awarded the Hakim Khan Sur award for his work towards National Integration by the Maharana of Mewar Foundation. In 2014, Rahul was named on the prestigious Executive Council of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs' National Foundation for Communal Harmony. In 2015 he was named GQ's Philanthropist of the Year. A former international rugby player, Rahul represented India for eleven years, retiring from the Indian team in 2009. A prolific speaker, he has lectured on leadership, gender equality and Indian cinema at Harvard, Oxford, Cambridge, Yale, MIT, Columbia and Cornell University amongst others.

Monday, May 1, 6.30 pm. Theater 4, Village East, NYC.

The Narrow Path
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 97 mins | Malayalam (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Satish Babusenan & Santosh Babusenan
Cast - K Kaladharan, Sarath Sabha, Krishnapriya
Winner: Silver Gateway for Second Best Film (Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival with Star), Second Best Prize (Kerala State Film Awards)

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/190883125

Synopsis: Young Akhil lives with his old and crippled father. The two share a difficult relationship. Akhil has decided to run away with his girlfriend Nina to another city and he is keeping this a secret from the old man. But his last day at home doesn't turn out the way he had planned it.

About the Directors: Satish and Santosh Babusenan are brothers. They started their career as cinematographers and producers shooting music, corporate and short films. In 2015 they made their first feature Chaayam Poosiya Veedu (The Painted House). In 2016 they made their second feature film Ottayaal PaathaTTAYAAL (The Narrow Path). Both films are jointly written, shot and directed by them. Satish has an M.Des from IIT Bombay and Santosh, a PhD in film studies.

Monday, May 1, 6.00 pm. Theater 5, Village East, NYC.

Gypsy
World Premiere
2016 | India | 56 mins | English, Hindi, Marathi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Dhananjay Bhawalekar
Cast - Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay

Post-screening discussion w/Director Dhananjay Bhawalekar

Trailer: https://youtu.be/cQ1zZWr1o3c
https://youtu.be/GTxUxCKeoIU

Synopsis: Born in a remote village in Maharashtra, Ambassador Dnyaneshwar Mulay has come a long way. His intimate first hand understanding of real India shaped his career in places as diverse as Tokyo, Damascus, Moscow and New York. As the Consul General in New York, he was the pillar behind the Madison Square Garden event of PM Modi.This is the irresistible journey of the gypsy hidden deep within the man; the gypsy who persisted, propelled and inspired varied accomplishments. His domain goes much beyond diplomacy - he is an award winning writer, linguist, columnist and thought leader. He is deeply invested in sociocultural issues of our times and continues to inspire youth. In spite of his high position as Secretary to the Government of India, he remains a down to earth, a sensitive poet with infinite energy and compassion. The documentary captures his extraordinary pilgrimage.

About the Director: Worked as a director in Marathi and Hindi Theatre since 2001. Working with several well-known and legend theatre personalities from last 15 years.

Monday, May 1, 9.00 pm. Theater 2, Village East, NYC.

Shab
World Premiere
2017 | India | 104 mins | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Onir
Cast - Ashish Bisht, Simoné Frenay, Areesz Ganddi, Raveena Tandon, Arpita Chatterjee

Post-screening discussion w/Director Onir & Ashish Bisht

Trailer: https://youtu.be/1Xe1R2cx-Fo

Synopsis: SHAB is set in the unforgiving and cold city of Delhi where people from all over the country come to fulfill their dreams. For some, these dreams are realized, while others surrender to the city’s overwhelming powers. It is the story of their unrequited love, unfulfilled desires and helplessness at the hands of destiny.

About the Director:Trained in film editing at SFB TTC, Berlin (1991), Onir directed and produced his first Documentary Film on painter Bijon Chaudhury Fallen Hero in 1992. In 1999 he worked as the film editor, song designer, and song director of the film Daman directed by Kalpana Lajmi. In 2004 with Sanjay Suri, Onir decided to produce his first film My brother…Nikhil which was to become the first mainstream that addressed the issue of homosexuality apart from dealing with issues of Human rights and HIV AIDS. In Jan 2006 he started shooting his second feature film Bas Ek Pal with Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar, Jimmy Sheirgill, Rehaan Engineer and Sanjay Suri. In 2007 he started his third film Sorry Bhai! under his and Sanjay’s home production ANTICLOCK FILMS. Sorry Bhai! starred Shabana Azmi, Boman Irani, Sanjay Suri, Chitrangda Singh and Boman Irani.

In 2009, Anticlock Films started the unique citizen funded film project called I Am which was Onir’s fourth feature film. The film had four stories which are interlinked by characters and shot across four cities in India. The films deal with stories that have never been addressed by mainstream Hindi cinema. The funds for the films have been through Facebook and blogging. I Am is probably the first and largest crowd sourced film through social network in India. Over 400 people across 47 cities across the world have come together to make this film. I Am was released to wide critical acclaim on 29th April 2011. I Am won the National Award for the Best Hindi Feature Film and Best Lyrics in the 59th National Awards 2012. He recently completed an Indo-Australian documentary, Raising The Bar, about 6 youngsters with Down's Syndrome, which won the Hollywood International Independent Documentary Award at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne (2016).

Monday, May 1, 9.15 pm. Theater 3, Village East, NYC.

Shorts A - Fathers, Sons, Caretakers & Other Bonds

I See You
World Premiere
2016 | USA | 10 mins | English
Directed by - Manjari Makijany
Cast - Shahaub Roudbari, Raegan Revord

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dgz_Vw9yw0Y

Synopsis: "An eye for an eye would make the whole world blind," Mahatma Gandhi. The film explores this deep philosophical concept through the eyes of a terrorist. A suicide bomber struggles with his decision on a crowded subway after he meets an innocent child and realizes the notion of the enemy isn’t that simple.

About the Director: One of 8 women chosen to participate in AFI's Directing Workshop for Women 2016, Manjari has written and directed award winning short films, The Last Marble and The Corner Table. As part of the DWW program she directed, I See You, a dramatic thriller about a suicide bomber who has a change of heart on the New York metro. Manjari completed UCLA's Professional Screenwriters Program, where she developed her feature screenplay, City of Gold. The script was nominated for the Nate Wilson's Joie De Vivre Award in 2015.

After her graduation, she worked as an Assistant Director on commercials and feature films including Bollywood features such as Wake Up Sid and Saat Khoon Maaf. She also worked on international and Hollywood productions including Disney's live action animation Lilly The Witch, and the Indian schedules of Mission Impossible 4: The Ghost Protocol and Christopher Nolan's Batman: The Dark Knight Rises. Her role as Director's Assistant on Gandhi of the Month starring, Harvey Keitel offered her the opportunity to work closely with actors for creative workshops and creatively contribute to the director's vision. Manjari heads Mac Productions, founded by her father. She directs narrative films and produces digital content for brands under the company banner.

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Patliputra Express
World Premiere
2016 | India | 12 mins | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Raj Rishi More
Cast - Ravi Khanwilkar

Synopsis: Uday Shankar, a retired army personnel takes a train journey to visit his son. And, Uday's wife accompanies him through a series of mobile phone calls that she makes in short intervals. But there's something amiss between them.

Things unfold when Uday decides to share his seat with a young musician who is traveling without ticket. Their interactions reveal that Uday's son is currently hospitalized and Uday's wife is not aware of it. Though, Uday finds some solace in the company of the young musician but in the end, he must come to terms with the present situation of his son and find a way to reveal it to his wife.

About the Director: Raj Rishi More was born in a small town named Dumka in Jharkhand, India. He studied visual art and photography from Drishti School of Photography, Bangalore.

Raj’s film career commenced as an assistant director on the film The Lunchbox (BAFTA Nominated 2015, Rail’D Or Winner @Cannes 2013) directed by Ritesh Batra. After this Raj worked as an associate director on feature film Khoya (MAMI 2015). He also worked as a First Assistant director to Ritesh Batra on his short Masterchef commissioned by Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation that premiered in Sundance Film Festival 2014.

Raj’s first feature Pirates was part of Sundance Screenwriter’s Lab, India. Raj was also part of PJLF Three Rivers Artist residency in Trevignano, Italy. And, Artist in Residence in Berlin under Medienboard Berlin-Brandenburg GmbH in collaboration with NIPKOW PROGRAM. End of 2014.

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The Stain
2016 | India | 15 mins | Urdu (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Munzir Naqvi

Synopsis: You can change your religion in India, but not caste. Your caste would remain with you till eternity. It won't change. This is the story of Haleem. Who is Muslim by faith but washer man by caste. Centuries ago his forefather changed their religion to escape the untouchability but they never run away from the stigma of caste. In india you belong to some caste, whether you are Muslim or Christian or a Sikh.

About the Director: Director, writer and editor Munzir Naqvi was born in Lucknow, India on 23rd May 1985. He was graduated in Computer Science from Shia P.G. College, University of Lucknow. Munzir also represented Cricket Association Lucknow in U-16 Cricket tournaments and also played club Cricket in early part of 2000s. He began his career in television/film industry as a Promo Editor and worked with Moving Picture Company, Zoom Entertainment (The Times of India group) and Zee Studio/Cafe (Essel group) for more than 10 years. He also wrote a film script about the struggle of a poet. The National Award winner Pankaj Kapoor is doing the title role in the said feature film. Dhabba (The Stain) is his first venture in direction. This short film is also selected in International Festival of Short films on Culture & Tourism, Jaipur, India.

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The Cobbler
World Premiere
2016 | India | 20 mins | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Saqib Pandor

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlN-eIg6SmQ&t=2s

Synopsis: Story revolves around the relationship of a father and son trying to get by in the big city of Bombay. Working as a cobbler at a railway station, Gopal works day in and day out along side other cobblers trying to make ends meet. With a growing son and a minimum wage job, it becomes increasingly difficult for Gopal to keep up with his son’s requests. There comes a point where is daily struggles are heighten even more because of a careless mistake on his end.

About the Director: Saqib Pandor, first time filmmaker from India. His journey in films began when he started working as an assistant with Anurag Kashyap, a noted filmmaker in India. Working on films like Ugly and Bombay Velvet gave him a great opportunity to polish his skills as a filmmaker and ultimately helped a great deal in his maiden venture.

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Almost
2017 | U S A | 20 mins | English
Directed By: Maahir Khan
Cast: Staffan Edenholm, Amy Lee Persaul, James Lyden, Jon Spano.

Synopsis: The film is about Jack, a recovering alcoholic and drug addict who, after running rampant for years, has been in and out of institutions over the past two. Having finally reached a point of acceptance of the fact that he can never drink and use safely again, Jack is determined to make good on his sobriety this time, and both get his life back and undo the collateral damage he has done to his fiancee and family. Yet, although he has accepted the fact that he is an alcoholic and that he cannot drink, he is still trapped in delusion and denial sober, except without anything to numb himself out or blame his behavior on.

About the Director: Maahir Khan. A young filmmaker raised in Bombay but living in New York, Maahir Khan began his artistic journey primarily as a writer from an early age. Particularly interested in literature that dealt with the intricacies of the ordinary, after a spate of serious health issues that early in life forced him to question the validity of everything he thought he knew, Maahir took a left turn from a path to become a lawyer and put his energies in the arts. Although initially pursuing music but switching to film, Maahir has a particular penchant for humanizing the horrific and exploring the shadows of the psyche.

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The Thief
World Premiere
2015 | India | 22 mins | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Aasmaan Bhardwaj
Cast - Chandan Roy Sanyal, Rahul Kumar, Aditi Sharma, Aasmaan Bhardwaj

Synopsis: Based on a short story by Ruskin Bond, also called The Thief, this is a story about a boy who cares for nothing and finally finds someone who changes that. But will that be temporary or permanent?

About the Director: Aasmaan Bhardwaj, is an Indian film director, and writer. He has also assisted as part of the direction team in several Bollywood productions, and has also acted in one of the films (The Blue Umbrella). Aasmaan received his 12th grade Diploma in May 2014, from E´cole Mondiale World School, which is part of the International Baccalaureate. He then proceeded to take a gap year to make a few short films, and finally decide which path he wants to take. In August 2015 he left for his first year of college at School Of Visual Arts, in New York City, where he started his 4 year Undergraduate Degree for a Bachelor of Fine Arts, in Filmmaking. He is currently doing his second year, in which he is specializing in Screenwriting as his major.

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Zoya
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 27 mins | Hindi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Sahirr Sethhi
Cast - Rajesh Tailang, Manjot Singh, Geeta Agrawal Sharma

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/164856967

Synopsis: Dr. Rajeev Kapoor is a hard-nosed wildlife conservationist relentlessly searching for a missing tiger in Kanha Tiger Reserve (India). She is feared dead by the authorities who’re ready to pull the plug on his mission, but Kapoor is undaunted. At the same time he is also desperately trying to reconnect with his estranged daughter. Enter Armaan, a rookie biologist who is assigned as Kapoor’s intern and is too eager to please for his liking. Together this unlikely duo journeys deep into the jungles on a quest that becomes more and more personal.

About the Director: Sahirr is a 'Student Emmy' winning filmmaker from Mumbai, India who recently graduated with an MFA in Film Directing from UCLA and is a post-graduate in screenwriting from the Film and Television Institute of India. He is a Tata Scholar, recipient of the Alfred P Sloan Production Grant, the Academy of Motion Picture Art & Sciences Internship Fellowship and is also a Telluride FilmLAB Fellow. He has served as a Director's Assistant to filmmakers Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris on multiple projects. Currently he's developing his debut feature while working as a Story Producer on an upcoming Netflix unscripted series - Ultimate Beastmaster.

Monday, May 1, 9.30 pm. Theater 4, Village East, NYC.

Side A side B
World Premiere
2017 | India | 80 mins | English
Directed by - Sudhish Kamath
Cast - Shivranjani Singh, Rahul Rajkhowa

Post-screening discussion w/Director Sudhish Kamath

Trailer: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xQ2pcK5oGVA
https://twitter.com/SudhishKamath/status/846829976209018881/video/1

Synopsis: Aiban "Joel" Gogoi, a guitarist and activist who feels strongly about the ground reality in the North East, takes a 44 hour-long train journey to accompany his singer-girlfriend Shivranjani Singh who is moving to Mumbai with their cat to explore a life beyond the mountains, even if it means a nine to five job working for a multi-national corporation. In the course of the journey between Guwahati and Mumbai, they realise they are headed in different directions. This story of two Indias, separated by Distance and ambition, is a collection of eight musical moments from the journey. The actors, hence, have sung and performed all songs live on a train in eight long takes.

About the Director:39 year-old Sudhish Kamath, a journalist and film critic with over 20 years of writing experience, has written, directed and produced three independent feature films. His debut film That Four Letter Word (2006) has been remade in Gujarati this year as Pela Adhi Akshar. In 2010, Kamath made Good Night Good Morning, a conversation film about two strangers falling in love over the course of a phone call on New Year's Eve in New York. The film had back to back premieres at the Mumbai Film Festival (2010) and the South Asian International Film Festival, New York (2010), played at the Transilvania International Film Festival, Romania (2011), Noordelijk Film Festival, Netherlands (2011), Habitat Film Festival, Delhi (2011) and Silk Screen Film Festival, Pittsburgh(2011). Good Night Good Morning released in January 2012 through PVR Director's Rare.

In 2013, Kamath brought together 10 other Indian directors with disparate styles of storytelling for the experimental serialized anthology X-Past is Present, to build a bridge between the different cinemas of India. X-Past is Present was the Opening Film at the South Asian International Film Festival (2014) and was selected in the World cinema section of the International Film Festival of Kerala (2014) before it released theatrically in November 2015. The film also played at the Habitat Film Festival, Delhi (2016), Bangalore International Film Festival (2016) and the Indie Meme Festival, Texas (2016) Earlier this year, Kamath decided to give up his flat in Mumbai to put the rent money to better use - to fund his films. Side A Side B, his fourth feature, is his first film made as a movie monk, living out of a suitcase.

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Mobile Bollywood/ One-Minute Cell Phone Films