New York Indian Film Festival To Be Organised This May

Shift72, the on-demand streaming service for the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), held an in-person press event in New York City on April 19, 2022, to announce the film lineup for the festival's 22nd year of independent, art-house, alternative, and diaspora films to be screened from May 7-14, 2022.

There will be a film screening and awards ceremony on May 14th, 2022, at the Village East Cinemas, 181 2nd Ave., New York, NY 10003, according to a press statement from the event's organizers.

“For two years now, we have offered virtual streaming of films, providing filmmakers with even more outlets to showcase their work. We emerged stronger with a larger footprint as global audiences engaged with the films,” Suman Gollamudi, Indo-American Arts Council, IAAC, executive director, is quoted saying in the press release. “This year, we are excited to offer an in-person closing event and award ceremony on May 14 in New York.”

IAAC Chairman Dr. Nirmal Mattoo hopes that the 75th anniversary celebration of India's independence will inspire a resonant discussion on the ongoing effect of Indian culture on the world.

NYIFF, presented by the Indo-American Arts Council, Inc. (IAAC), delivers alternative, independent films from the Indian diaspora to New York City audiences. it. The festival, will screen 60 films, including 18 narrative features, 6 documentaries, and 36 shorts. Here are some of the highlights:

-Faraz Ali's Shoebox (Hindi) examines a young woman's complicated relationship with her father as the world around them undergoes a dramatic transformation.

-Bhagavadajjukam will star in the first NYIFF showing of a Sanskrit-language film.

-Special screenings of children's flicks – Boomba Ride (Assamese) and Gandhi & Co. – will take place (Gujarati).

-If Memory Serves Me Right pays homage to the late lyricist, poet, and activist Kafi Azmi while the Kaifinama pays homage to the late cinema critic and Bombay celebrity Rashid Irani.

-With Dal Bhat, Kiss,Keep Punching, Man & Wife, My Mother's Girlfriend, Pariah, and The Way We Are we get to explore LGBTQ stories from an Indian standpoint.

Indian film stars such as Abhishek Banerjee and Adarsh Gourav from The White Tiger will also appear in a variety of works.

Aseem Chhabra, the festival director of the New York International Film Festival, said, “We aimed to truly underscore the NYIFF commitment to diversity and cultural representation in film. This year, we will feature films in 13 languages spoken in India: Assamese, Bengali, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Malayalam, Marathi, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu and Urdu.  All films will have English subtitles.”

It will be possible to watch these and other NYIFF-recognized titles at online.nyiff.us beginning on May 7, 2022, when they will be available for streaming. US$4.99 per feature film (narrative and documentary) and $0.99 per short film will be available to purchase starting on April 19, 2022. Viewers outside the United States will be able to access certain films as well.

Those who aren't from the United States, but aren't from India, can use their own currency to make purchases. The cost of a feature film in India is Rs. 150, whereas a short film costs Rs. 50. Tickets to the festival can be purchased at a reduced price as well.

Feature-length narrative films, feature-length documentaries, short narratives, and short documentaries are all included in this huge film archive.