The New York Indian Festival Festival kicks off its critically-acclaimed, premiere-worthy programming ONE MONTH from now with 44 shorts, documentaries and feature films from FOUR South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) representing English, Hindi and SEVEN regional languages (Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi, Gujarati and Bengali). All films will have English subtitles.

The festival’s opening night film, LIPSTICK UNDER MY BURKHA, will be screened at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian (Financial District) on Sunday, April 30th, followed by a fundraising gala open to the public (tickets can be purchased HERE). During the week, films will be screened at the Village East Cinemas (189 2nd Avenue @ 12th St.), including the centerpiece film AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN on Wednesday, May 3rd. The closing night film, YOU ARE MY SUNDAY, will be shown at Mason Hall on the Baruch College campus (17 Lexington Ave @ 23rd St.), followed by an awards ceremony and VIP party.

FESTIVAL HIGHLIGHTS:

• Sibling Filmmakers: Deepa Mehta & Dilip Mehta present their respective New York Premieres of ANATOMY OF VIOLENCE and MOSTLY SUNNY on Saturday, May 6th. Both films’ world premieres took place at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2016.
• Om Puri Tribute: A DEATH IN THE GUNJ, directed by Konkona Sen Sharma, pays tribute to the late Om Puri, one of India’s most versatile character actors who starred in more than 147 films during his illustrious career; he was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian award of India in 1990. NYIFF Screening on Monday, May 1st.
• Priyanka Produces: VENTILATOR and SARVANN, produced by actor Priyanka Chopra – NYIFF Screenings on Thursday, May 4th.
• Mobile Bollywood: One Minute Cell Phone Films (NYU Tisch Cinema Studies students)
• Industry Panels with industry experts on financing a film, casting, shooting in New York, distribution & more – May 4th.
• SHOOT A SHORT FILM: Workshop by National Award-Winning Filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni – May 5th & 6th
• Films from Pakistan (LALA BEGUM and JEEWAN HATHI, part of Zee TV’s “Zeal for Unity” initiative), Sri Lanka (RED BUTTERFLY DREAM) and Bangladesh (KINGDOM OF CLAY SUBJECTS)
• Docudramas/Biopics: POORNA by Rahul Bose and DOCTOR RAKHMABAI (Marathi) by Ananth Mahadevan
• Documentaries: WITH THIS RING (about the women on the Indian National Boxing Team) and Celebrating Satyajit Ray (FELUDA: 50 YEARS OF RAY’S DETECTIVE) on his birthday – May 2nd
• Feature Films:
  • GURGAON
  • TRAPPED
  • KAMATIPADDAM – Malayalam
  • THE NARROW PATH – Malayalam
  • WHEN THE WOODS BLOOM – Malayalam
  • BLOSSOM – Tamil
  • WRONG SIDE RAJU – Gujarati
  • COLOURS OF INNOCENCE – Bengali
  • SHAB
  • SIDE A / SIDE B
  • A BILLION COLOUR STORY
  • HOTEL SALVATION