The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) - the premiere venue for the best annual showcase of independent cinema from India and its Diaspora - announced today a special virtual showcase, the first of its kind, IFFLA Over the Years: 17 days celebrating 17 years of Indian cinema. Accessible via the IFFLA website (www.indianfilmfestival.org) beginning on June 19 through July 5, 2020, this virtual showcase of over 120 narrative features, documentaries, and short films by festival alumni will be available online either freely or via popular streaming services. Many of these fascinating films have never seen a general release in the U.S.
IFFLA Over the Years is the festival's response to the ongoing uncertainty in the film festival world. To that end, the previously announced 2020 lineup will be moved to 2021 so that filmmakers and audiences can join together and share the festival experience in person.
"We are beyond thrilled to be presenting this online showcase of alumni films," said Christina Marouda, IFFLA's founder. "Traveling through 17 years of programming has allowed us to reconnect with so many of our alumni with whom we share fond memories. We are excited for this opportunity to collaborate with them to offer new audiences worldwide the chance to discover some of the most visionary voices of Indian independent cinema in recent years. We also hope recent IFFLA attendees have a chance to catch up with films from our first decade, and early attendees who could not join us in recent years are able to discover some of the newer gems we've presented. There is literally a film for everyone's appetite."
IFFLA Over the Years is curated into 12 categories highlighting the diverse viewing experiences available to audiences. "Humor Me Now" contains lighthearted, comedic stories such as the late Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab, while "Grit and Thrills" focuses on darker themes in films like Anurag Kashyap's career-defining Gangs of Wasseypur, and Vikramaditya Motwane's Trapped.
Over 70 short films are included in "Keeping it Short" with Neha RT's uproarious satire The Shaila(s) and Jennifer Rosen's piercing Laksh, making their online premiere with this virtual showcase.
Finally, Richie Mehta's India In A Day, Shonali Bose's Amu, Devashish Makhija's Taandav, Tanuj Chopra's Pia, and Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya's The Hour of Lynching are new additions to IFFLA's programming by alumni.IFFLA thanks all the 2020 sponsors for their commitment and invaluable contribution. IFFLA Over the Years is made possible in part by the generous support of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the LA Arts COVID Relief Fund initiated by the J. Paul Getty Trust Foundation and administered by the California Community Foundation.
Videos