Mira Nair’s The Namesake will open a festival of films from South Asia and the Indian diaspora to be held by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) in New York during November first to the fifth.

Announcing the Sixth IAAC Film Festival here Tuesday, festival director Pooja Kohli Taneja said, “This is a product of the tremendous talent and commitment of nascent South Asian filmmakers",he said.

He also added that, "The IAAC film festival is one of the few platforms in America for filmmakers of South Asian origin. Not only do we provide a showcase for their films but also a tremendous source of support for their work.”

“Submissions were up an astounding amount, over 300 percent this year,” Kohli said of the festival opening with a gala premiere of ‘The Namesake’, based on Pulitzer Prize winning author Jhumpa Lahiri’s book of the same title.

The film, starring Kal Penn, Tabu, Irfan Khan, Jacinda Barrett and Zuleikha Robinson, has received rave advance reviews at festival screenings in Telluride and Toronto.

Selections from South Asia include Podokkhep, Suman Ghosh’s story of an unusual bond between a five-year-old girl and a retired man who rediscovers life during his twilight years.

The film stars legendary actor Soumitra Chatterjee and Nandita Das. The selections also include Dubai Return, Aditya Bhattacharya’s critically acclaimed and revelatory adaptation of Shakespeare’s King Lear, Hiding Divya by Rehana Mirza, My Bollywood Bride by Rajiv Virani, and American Blend by Varun Khanna.

This year there are over 40 shorts and documentaries, including films that have won top prizes at several festivals.

The festival will close Nov 5 with the screening of Jagmohan Mundhra’s Backwaters, starring Nicholas Irons, Sandra Telles, James Flemyng and Gulshan Grover.