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.

Thursday, May 4, 6.00 pm. Theater 2, Village East, NYC.

Wrong Side Raju
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 140 mins | Gujarati (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Mikhil Musale
Cast - Pratik Gandhi, Kimberley Louisa McBeath, Asif Basra, Kavi Shastri and Hetal Puniwala

Post-screening discussion w/Director Mikhil Musale

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om_SW2jgq-s

Synopsis: Raju Ambani, a driver by day and bootlegger by night, is a simple and charming guy who dreams of opening up his own travel agency someday. He falls in love with Shaily Asher, a French girl who has come down to Ahmedabad at the behest of her friend Tanmay Shah. Life was seemingly perfect for Raju till he finds himself unwillingly stuck in a hit and run situation involving Tanmay, who happens to be the son of an affluent lawyer, Mr. Amitabh Shah. The case intensifies as Raju gets more and more embroiled in a web of lies and deceit where nothing seems right or wrong.

About the Director: MIKHIL MUSALE Creative Director at CineMan Productions Ltd (Feature & Ad Films) Mikhil Musale (27) was born & brought up in Ahmedabad. While pursuing Engineering in the field of Electrical & Electronics, he started making short films & exploring, growing & exhausting through various art forms. In the year 2010, he got together with likeminded people & was quite instrumental in forming "CineMan Productions Ltd" - mainly into Feature & Ad Films in Ahmedabad, where as a Creative Director he was assigned the prestigious position of heading the creative functioning of the company. It involved actions from client briefing to creative steering, scribbling thoughts to conceptualizing & also directing a lot of Ad Films. He has directed more than 25 Television Commercials up till now for various category of brands from all over the world. He has worked as a Associate Director in feature films Kevi Rite Jaish (2012) & Bey Yaar (2014) both produced by CineMan where his job role was not just limited in the directional department but was quite instrumental as a creative director, visual promotions, strategizing as well as directing few songs for the film which went on to become a path breaking films for the Gujarati film industry. It ran for more than 100 days in the multiplexes across Gujarat & USA. Directing makes him feel alive and complete. Hence, when people see his work, he hopes they are able to connect with it and it becomes a cynosure.

Thursday, May 4, 6.15 pm. Theater 3, Village East, NYC.

Ventilator
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 143 mins | Marathi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Rajesh Mapuskar
Produced by Priyanka Chopra & Madhu Chopra
Cast - Jitendra Joshi, Raja Bapa, Sulbha Arya, Sukanya Kulkarni, Tanvi Abhyankar, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Satish Alekar, Sanjeev Shah

Post-screening discussion with Director Rajesh Mapuskar & Producer Madhu Chopra

Trailer: https://youtu.be/uh3ZsqZA84c

Synopsis: Every year, the occasion of ‘Ganesh Utsav’ mobilizes the large Kamerkar clan at their native village in Konkan. It’s the one festival they religiously celebrate due to its cherished ancestral tradition, merriment and their ‘family prestige.’ The arrival of their Ganpati idols is a mere three days away now, but the sudden news of the critical condition of Gajanan Kaka in Mumbai brings their fervent preparations to a sudden halt. Gajanan Kaka has played a pivotal role in overseeing the family affairs for the Ganesh Utsav all these years. His condition not only dampens the preparatory spirit but also puts a big question mark on the very arrival of Ganpati itself. Tongues start wagging about the impending ‘mourning period’ in case of his demise and how it would impact their festival arrangements. Gajanan Kaka is put on a ventilator and though the end is imminent, ‘officially’ it’s not over yet. Slowly the family members in Mumbai gather at the hospital and the Konkan clan gets wind about the ‘ventilator’ and its direct bearing on Ganpati’s arrival. Prasanna, Gajanan Kaka’s son, his sister and some close family members refuse to accept the truth about their father's life span. It’s Dada, the most sensible one in Mumbai, who relentlessly brings the gravity of the situation to the fore. Another family member, Raja (RK), who is the ‘pride’ of the clan owing to his success as a Bollywood director, arrives at the hospital and it galvanizes the cinema crazy Kamerkar clan even in this somber atmosphere...

About the Director: Rajesh Mapuskar has spent a third of his life on film sets, training and leading some of the best film crews in India. He has worked as a Production Head with the foremost directors in advertising and films. Rajesh was the Associate Director on Rajkumar Hirani’s three blockbusters. Carrying forth his years of learning, Rajesh debuted with Ferrari Ki Sawaari produced by Vinod Chopra Films in 2012. Since then, Rajesh has been working tirelessly to develop several feature film scripts and has directed commercials in India and internationally. Two of his Hindi language scripts are in advanced negotiations with studios. His Marathi language script, Ventilator has already secured the interest of many cast and crew members. In 2015-2016, Rajesh is geared to direct two of his features and is looking forward to a rewarding experience, both creatively and at the box office.

Thursday, May 4, 6.30 pm. Theater 4, Village East, NYC.

When the woods bloom
2016| India | 105 mins | Malayalam (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Dr. Biju Damodaran
Cast - Indrajith Sukumaran, Rima Kallingal, Indrans, Prakash Bare, Camp, Irshad, Krishnan Balakrishnan, Master Govardhan

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WoRkBIF_vlY&t=3s

Synopsis: A special battalion of police is deployed by the government to do away with Maoist menace (a banned left organization) in a tribal village near forest. The police forcibly occupy a tribal primary school for their camp. One day, the police are on lookout for some people in the forest near the school at night. A policeman follows a person deep into the forest and nabs the person. The person arrested happens to be a woman. He tries to come out of the forest with the arrested person, but he loses his way in the wild. The woman knows the path to get out of the forest but she is not willing to show him the way. Thus, both the hunter and the hunted are stranded in the thick forest. Power, Crime, Man, Woman, the Hunter, the Hunted... all such equations change utterly and are no more what they used to be.

About the Director: Dr Biju, also known as Bijukumar Damodaran, is a filmmaker who has won multiple national and international recognitions. He has made seven feature films so far, all noted for the unique content and the social commitment. Dr Biju is the recipient of India’s prestigious national film awards for three times. His movies were screened at many international film festivals including Cannes, Montreal, Shanghai, Cairo, Telluride, New York, Tehran, Goa, etc. Saira, Biju’s debut film in 2005, was the opening film in ‘Cinema of the World’ section at the Cannes Film Festival 2007. Veettilekkulla Vazhi (The Way Home)(2010), his third film received India's National film award for the best Malayalam regional film. Akashathinte Niram (Color of the Sky) his fourth feature was world premiered at Shanghai Film Festival 2012 in official competition. Perariyathavar (Names Unknown) (2013), his fifth film world premiered at Montreal film festival 2014. The film also won two of India's national film awards for the year 2014, for the Best actor and for the best film on Environment preservation. His sixth film Valiya Chirakulla Pakshikal (Birds With Large Wings) won India's national award 2015 for best environment film. Kaadu Pookkunna Neram (When The Woods Bloom), Biju’s latest film, is premiered at Montreal film festival, September 2016. His three films were entered in official competition for Asia pacific screen awards. He has also served as jury member for India's National film awards 2012, India’s Oscar selection jury member 2015, 30th Fajr International film festival, Tehran, Iran 2012 and International Film Festival of Kerala 2011.

Thursday, May 4, 9.00 pm. Theater 2, Village East, NYC.

A Billion Colour Story
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 115 mins | English
Directed by - N Padmakumar
Cast - Gaurav Sharma, Vasuki Sunkavalli, Dhruva Padmakumar

SYNOPSIS: A Billion Colour Story is a small, intimate story of love, a father-son story,a story about the myriad colours of the world’s most diverse democracy, a story about India’s charming contradictions and superficial differences, a story about storytelling, but above all, a story about humanity that questions what kind of world we want to leave behind for our children.

About the Director: N. Padmakumar Paddy quit a career in the uppermost echelons of Indian Advertising, as National Creative Director of Rediffusion Y&R in 2012, to pursue an adventure in Fiction and Film, promising himself that the next phase of his creative journey would be meaningful in the human context. Padma is a poet, writer and photographer, and considers himself a "Momenteer" and an Interpreter. An idealist, and an eternal optimist, his stories aspire to build bridges across differences, small and big.

Thursday, May 4, 9.15 pm. Theater 3, Village East, NYC.

Blossom (Sigai)
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 97 mins | Tamil (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Jagadeesan Subu
Cast - Kathir, Raj Bharath, Rajesh Sharma, Meera Nair, Mal Muruga

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/208316222

Synopsis: On what he expected to be a typical day, Prasad (Raj Bharath), a reluctant pimp, must investigate the sudden disappearance of his network’s most demanded prostitute, Nimmi (Meera Nair). Just hours before, a nervous young man named Mathi (Kathir Logu) was preparing to admit to his lifelong friend that he has always identified as a woman, and that he has always been in love with him. While Prasad questions how he landed in this business his guilty conscience fuels him to locate Nimmi and eventually leads him to Mathi - who is busy dealing with the repercussions of his confession, and wondering why it is so difficult for people to accept that he was simply born in the wrong body.

About the Director: Jagadeesan Subu was born and raised just outside of Chennai, and used his tailoring knowledge to join the film industry as an assistant costumer when he moved to the city when he was 20 years old. After working in the wardrobe department on a few films he learned that his greater interest lied in camera work and he began working as an assistant camera man on some big budget commercial films of the early 2000s. Before moving on to working with highly notable directors in South Indian cinema, such as director Shankar, Jagadeesan actually took about 7 months off between films to increase his knowledge of world cinema, by watching close to 1200 films. When his longtime friend National Award winning director M. Manikandan received funding for his directorial debuts he joined his team and began aspiring to direct himself. After the success of Kaakaa Muttai in 2014, director Manikandan encouraged him to begin working on his own scripts. Sigai (Blosom) is Jagadeesan’s directorial and writing debut.

Thursday, May 4, 9.30 pm. Theater 4, Village East, NYC.

Sarvann
New York City Premiere
2016 | India | 116 mins | Punjabi (w/ English subtitles)
Directed by - Karaan Guliani
Produced by Priyanka Chopra & Madhu Chopra
Cast - Ranjit Bawa, Simi Chahal, Amrinder Gill

Post-screening discussion with Producer Madhu Chopra

Trailer: https://youtu.be/EVMYQa6uQow

Synopsis: This is a coming of age story about Mitthu, a Canadian resident who lives his life on his own terms. He is a person who wears his heart on his sleeve. He lives on the edge where he has more enemies than friends. Mitthu is shot by a rival gang on his leg, which gives him a limp for the rest of his life. He seeks revenge from his enemies and succeeds in killing his rival but he also accidentally kills a sole witness. The police is in pursuit of him. He flees from Canada and he lands in Punjab, India through various means. Punjab is a land of big hearted, warm & hospitable people. A family of distant relatives welcomes him where he finds love. Mitthu is happy to leave his past behind and to lead life in a carefree way. But fate has many twists to offer. The woman who has won his heart is being arranged with a man, who stands up for injustice in the village. Mitthu goes to meet the man’s family. The family leads a simple modest life and trying to make their ends meet. He meets a small girl who takes an instant liking towards Mithu. He discovers an ugly truth as he is told about their son who lost his life in Canada being killed for no reason. Mithu’s life shatters when he discovers that he was the one who killed their son Sarvann who was the unknown sole witness...

Sarvann, a high octane story of emotions, love, betrayal and redemption. A story of a man who is put in most unforeseen situations and has to choose between the heart and mind, right and wrong path, realization and redemption.

About the Director: Karaan started his career at the age of 16 as a theatre actor, and his quest and inclination as a conceptualizer armed with technical acumen led him to become an associate director and director for the show “India’s Most Wanted”. He also worked as a consultant to broadcasting channels like Zee TV. Karaan has directed close to 23 music videos. He was also the project conceptualizer, creative guide to a short film project –Candy Man – that showed at the New York Film Festival in 2010. He has now moved into motion pictures as a Creative Producer. Karaan is also in the incubation stage of a full length commercial Hindi feature film Oustedd that is proposed to have Indian and Hollywood cast.