Today, the 2024 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced its lineup for the 22nd annual edition of the internationally acclaimed film festival. The festival is moving back to Hollywood at Landmark Theatres Sunset and runs June 27-30. Passes are now available at www.indianfilmfestival.org. Tickets to galas and individual programs go on sale on Monday, May 20.
IFFLA will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh's forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan's Tamil film Maharaja, a twisted revenge saga starring phenomenal actor Vijay Sethupathi and maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap playing the villain. Features include the stylized violence of Kill, written and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat and produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga; the coming-of-age story Sundance winner Girls Will Be Girls, written and directed by Shuchi Talati; the award-winning filmmaker Christo Tomy's film Undercurrent, which explores the powerful themes of female solidarity; a tender love story Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts, written and directed by Shaun Seneviratne, and the touching tale A House Named Shahana, by Leesa Gazi and co-written by Aanon Siddiqui.
On June 28th the festival is launching IFFLA Industry Day, the first-of-its-kind, day-long forum for South Asian film and TV executives and creatives sharing their stories within this underrepresented community. Industry Day will spotlight exciting South Asian voices, while attendees will have educational opportunities to hear first-hand expert advice from industry professionals. The pinnacle event of Industry Day is Launch Pad: A Pitch Competition the winner of which will receive a $10,000 development grant. The full Industry Day lineup will be announced in early June.
IFFLA will kick off the festival with visionary director Tarsem Singh's film Dear Jassi. This tragic love story inspired by true events, bookends with the Punjabi folklore verses. The film follows Jassi, a Canadian-born Indian girl who falls in love with Mithu, a rickshaw driver from a lower social class. Through their instant attraction, they must confront the reality of societal expectations imposed by Jassi's family. The film stars Pavia Sidhu (The Flash, Vellai Pookal) and Yugam Sood in his acting feature debut.
This year's closing night selection is one of India's highly anticipated films, starring popular actor Vijay Sethupath in his milestone 50th outing, Maharaja. The Tamil film, written and directed by Nithilan Saminathan, is an action-packed thriller about a group of men seeking revenge with twisted turns along the way. Maharaja will have its Los Angeles premiere at IFFLA with the director, producers, and cast in attendance.
IFFLA is excited to collaborate with American Cinematheque and Beyond Fest with a screening of the martial arts thriller Kill at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood. The film, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and won the Midnight Madness First Runner-Up Award, is directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat and produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga. Kill will be released by Lionsgate Films and Roadside Attractions in U.S. theaters on July 4, and in India on July 5.
In its U.S. premiere, IFFLA will host a special screening of two episodes of the powerful documentary series Defiance: Fighting the Far Right, which shines a light on an extraordinary protest movement led by young British Asians in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s to oppose anti-immigrant rhetoric and assaults. Produced by the Academy Award-winning actor and producer Riz Ahmed and Rogan Productions, the series is directed by the Primetime Emmy Award-winner Satiyesh Manoharajah, with Rajesh Thind directing the 3rd episode.
IFFLA's Artistic Director Anu Rangachar said, “The eclectic lineup covering most of the vast and diverse South Asian regions, including the diaspora, is directed by a majority of incredibly talented first-time filmmakers debuting with their works. The lineup organically reveals some of the themes such as solidarity and resilience, tender love, and familial violence, inherent to the South Asian communities around the globe.”
This year's shorts competition includes a diverse range of female-centric stories, featuring the work of 6 talented female directors. The lineup presents an impressive selection of stories with diaspora and coming-of-age themes, told in ten different languages. It boasts two world premieres, including Hema directed by Ritvik Dhavale and starring Rajshri Deshpande (Angry Indian Goddesses, Sacred Games), about an Indian woman's journey to rediscover her new purpose in life after moving to Los Angeles for her husband's job, and debut director Shashwat Dwivedi's comedic coming-of-age Bobby Beauty Parlour, directed by Shashwat Dwivedi and produced by Anurag Kashyap.
Additional notable short premieres include Wire & Cloth, written and directed by IFFLA alum Swetha Regunathan, about a mother and daughter struggling to connect. IFFLA alum Theja Rio returns to the festival with Ade (On A Sunday), the touching short that premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year. Also making her directorial debut in film, actress and theater director Yuki Ellias comes to IFFLA with the North American premiere of her subversive political comedy Lovely & Tip Top.
Other short premieres include the Cannes award-winning Nepali film Lori, written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah; Last Days Of Summer, written and directed by Stenzin Tankong, and This is TMI, co-written and co-directed by Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta.
Opening and Closing Galas will take place at Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills (135 S Doheny Drive), and all other screenings will be at Landmark Theatres Sunset (8000 Sunset Blvd).
IFFLA is supported by NBCUniversal, Joy of Sharing Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, among other sponsors.
For more information, please visit www.indianfilmfestival.org and follow us on Facebook (/indianfilmfestival), Instagram (@indianfilmfestival), and X (formerly Twitter) (@iffla).
For press images, click HERE.
2024 IFFLA'S OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
GALA PRESENTATIONS
DEAR JASSI – LA Premiere
India | 2023 | 130 mins | Punjabi, English
Director: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Vipul D Shah, Ashwin Varde, Rajesh Bahl, Sanjay Grover, Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
Screenwriter: Amit Rai
Cinematographer: Brendan Galvin
Editor: Tarsem Singh Dhandwar
Cast: Pavia Sidhu, Yugam Sood
Visionary director Tarsem Singh presents a modern-day Romeo and Juliet inspired by true events and told in a Punjabi folk style.
MAHARAJA – LA Premiere
India | 2023 | 141 mins | Tamil
Director: Nithilan Saminathan
Producers: Sudhan Sundaram, Jagadish Palanisamy
Screenwriter: Nithilan Saminathan
Cinematographer: Dinesh Purushothaman
Editor: Philomin Raj
Cast: Vijay Sethupathi, Anurag Kashyap, Mamta Mohandas, Sachana
A barber's search for the trash can that saved his daughter's life leads to startling revelations.
NARRATIVE FEATURES
BEN AND SUZANNE, A REUNION IN 4 PARTS – LA Premiere
USA, Sri Lanka| 2024 | 110 mins | English, Sinhala, Tamil
Director: Shaun Seneviratne
Producer: Doron JePaul Mitchell
Screenwriter: Shaun Seneviratne
Cinematographer: Molly Scotti
Editor: Joe Violette
Cast: Sathya Sridharan, Anastasia Olowin
The romantic reunion of Ben Santhanaraj and Suzanne Hopper is thwarted when Suzanne's boss asks her to work during their holiday road trip.
GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS – LA Premiere
India, France, USA, Norway| 2024 | 118 mins | English, Hindi
Director: Shuchi Talati
Producers: Claire Chassagne, Richa Chadha, Shuchi Talati
Screenwriter: Shuchi Talati
Cinematographer: Jih-E Peng
Editor: Amrita David
Cast: Preeti Panigrahi, Kani Kusruti, Kesav Binoy Kiron
A teenager's sexy and rebellious exploration of adulthood is disrupted by her young mother, who never got to come of age herself.
A HOUSE NAMED SHAHANA – LA Premiere
Bangladesh, UK | 2023 | 117 mins | Bengali
Director: Leesa Gazi
Producers: Leesa Gazi, Arifur Rahman, Bijon Imtiaz, Abbas Nokhasteh, Faisal Gaz
Screenwriters: Leesa Gazi and Aanon Siddiqua
Cinematographer: Xoaher Musavvir
Editor: Alex Unai Arrieta
Cast: Aanon Siddiqua, Lutfur Rahman George, Iresh Zaker, Kazi Ruma, Kamrunnahar Munni, Mugdhota Morshed Wriddhi, Amirul Haque Chowdhury, Naila Azad, Arif Islam
A fierce, funny, and forthright divorcee in rural ‘90s Bangladesh defies social stigma and the burden of family honor to live on her own terms.
KILL
India | 2023 | 115 mins | Hindi, English
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Producers: Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Guneet Monga, Achin Jain
Screenwriter: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat, Ayesha Syed
Cinematographer: Rafey Mehmood
Editor: Shivkumar V. Panikar
Cast: Lakshya, Raghav Juyal, Tanya Maniktala, Abhishek Chauhan
A train becomes the battleground for a fight to the finish between two army commandos and a group of brutal armed dacoits.
UNDERCURRENT – International Premiere
India | 2023 | 121 mins | Malayalam
Director: Christo Tomy
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala, Honey Trehan, Abhishek Chaubey
Screenwriter: Christo Tomy
Cinematographer: Shehnad Jalal
Editor: Kiran Das
Cast: Parvathy Thiruvothu, Urvashi, Arjun Radhakrishnan, Alencier Ley Lopez
During a monsoon deluge in Kerala, a grieving mother and pregnant widow rise above their differences to forge a rare bond as they wait to perform a man's last rites.
TV SERIES
DEFIANCE: FIGHTING THE FAR RIGHT – US Premiere
UK | 2024 | Episodes 1 & 3 (47 mins each) – 94 mins total | English
Directors: Satiyesh Manoharajah (Series Director), Rajesh Thind (Producer/Director of Episode 3)
Producer: Anoop Pandhal (Series Producer)
Cinematographer: Will Edwards
Editors: Brett Irwin (Series Editor), Sean Mackenzie, Asim Ali
Between 1976 and 1981, Britain's Asian community stood tall against far-right violence and a rising tide of racist murders. Defiance: Fighting the Far Right lifts the lid on the events that led to the Southall protests, the killing of Blair Peach, the Battle for Brick Lane, and how ‘self-defense is no offense' became a rallying call in Bradford.
SHORT FILMS
ADE (ON A SUNDAY) – US Premiere
India | 2024 | 17 mins | Tenyidie
Category: Narrative
Director: Theja Rio
Producers: Theja Rio, Dan Pusa, Nancy Nisa Beso
Screenwriter: Theja Rio
Cinematographer: Natdanai Naksuwarn
Editor: Yiwei Pu
Cast: Visalie Kuotsu, Kedo Kuotsu, Neithongunuo Sorhie, Razouselhou Rio
A carefree afternoon at the lake turns into a rude awakening for two curious young boys in Nagaland who skip Sunday school.
BOBBY BEAUTY PARLOUR – World Premiere
India | 2024 | 18 mins | Hindi, Punjabi
Category: Narrative
Director: Shashwat Dwivedi
Producers: Anurag Kashyap, Ranjan SIngh, Janhavi Asthana, Shashwat Dwivedi
Screenwriters: Shashwat Dwivedi, Janhavi Asthana
Cinematographer: Janhavi Asthana
Editor: Tanya Chhabria
Cast: Parul Rana, Adrija Sinha, Saksham Raj, Preeti Kochar
Two childhood friends navigate their changing relationship, as one is about to leave their small town for college, while the other is stuck working at a beauty salon.
CHAKRAS FOR SALE
USA | 2024 | 20 mins | English
Category: Narrative
Director: Punya Chatterjee
Producer: Toni Adeyemi
Screenwriter: Punya Chatterjee
Cinematographer: Xander Veguilla
Editor: Punya Chatterjee
Cast: Rishi Mahesh, Karan Menon, Maya Rangulu, Dani Lyle, Karthik Kal, Shamik Ganguly, Sam Roach, Weston Berger
Just as they are about to give up on their failing rock band, four Indian-American friends in 1960s San Francisco devise a rebrand that may finally catapult them to the fame they deserve.
HEMA – World Premiere
USA | 2024 | 16 mins | English, Marathi, Hindi
Category: Narrative
Director: Ritvik Dhavale
Producers: Aishwarya Sonar, Shaurya Nanavati, and Ritvik Dhavale
Screenwriter: Ritvik Dhavale
Cinematographer: Marcus Patterson
Editors: Raghav Puri, Aashish D'mello
Cast: Rajshri Deshpande, Samrat Chakrabarti, Kapil Talwalkar, and Neil Iyer
A chance encounter with ties to the homeland threatens the already fragile existence of Hema, a recent Indian immigrant in Los Angeles who struggles to make roots in America.
KASBI – LA Premiere
USA | 2023 | 12 mins | English, Urdu
Category: Narrative
Director: Farah Jabir
Producers: Arielle Friedman, Amelia Lim
Screenwriter: Farah Jabir
Cinematographer: Luc Ung
Editors: Kima Hibbert
Cast: Anna Khaja, Zina Louhaichy
A middle-aged woman may finally be able to liberate her latent sexual desires in a New Jersey motel room.
LAST DAYS OF SUMMER – LA Premiere
India, France| 2023 | 15 mins | Boti (Ladakhi)
Category: Narrative
Director: Stenzin Tankong
Producers: Flore Cavigneaux, Jérôme Blesson, Stenzin Tankong, Urgain Phuntsog
Screenwriter: Stenzin Tankong
Cinematographer: Jigmet Wangchuk
Editor: Stenzin Tankyong
Cast: Tsewang Chodak, Stanzin Thupstan, Padma Angmo
A mysterious recurring sound reverberates across the Himalayan mountains, but other than two discerning shepherds, no one else seems to be able to hear it.
LORI
Nepal, Hong Kong | 2022 | 15 mins | Nepali, Maithili
Category: Narrative
Director: Abinash Bikram Shah
Producers: Anup Poudel, Vinod Sekhar, Benjamin Grubbs, Darren Shaw
Screenwriter: Abinash Bikram Shah
Cinematographer: Ujjal Bastakoti
Editor: Suraj Paudel
Cast: Ankita Yadav, Sujita Sah, Priti Jha
In rural Nepal, a mother's lullabies do little to soothe a preteen girl facing the grim patriarchal rule of her community.
LOVELY & TIP TOP – North American Premiere
India| 2024 | 30 mins | Hindi
Category: Narrative
Director: Yuki Ellias
Producer: Yuki Ellias
Screenwriter: Yuki Ellias
Cinematographer: Viraj Sinh Gohil
Editor: Nandini Dhar
Cast: Yuki Ellias, Shubham Chaudhary, Chakori Dwivedi, Saurabh Nayyar, Satchit Puranik
As a sinister new law is cheerfully put into effect by the Ministry of Belonging, Lovely, an enterprising woman in a sleepy mountainous village will stop at nothing to save her quirky lingerie shop.
OUT BEYOND – LA Premiere
Pakistan, USA | 2023 |6 mins | Urdu
Category: Narrative
Director: Salman Alam Khan
Producers: Sana Jafri, Salman Alam Khan
Screenwriters: Tahir Rashid, Salman Alam Khan
Cinematographer: Jaffer Raza
Editors: Salman Alam Khan, Nadeem Abbas
Cast: Hassan Raza
Stifled teenage expression finds an unlikely and explosive launchpad within the confines of a small bathroom.
STITCHED
USA | 2023 | 16 mins | English, Tamil, Hindi
Category: Narrative
Director: Lorena Lourenco
Producer: Naomi Sedgwick
Screenwriter: Pratima Mani
Cinematographer: Eurica Yu
Editor: Maria Freire
Cast: Pratima Mani, Vick Krishna, McKenna Cox, Fareeda Pasha, Suni M, Arindham Ghosh, Shravan Amin, Thomas Powers, Andy Khan May, David Carl, Dylan Lesch, Joel Ronson, Iliana Inocencio, David Walker
Tired of endless dating debacles and desperate for companionship, a young woman with a knack for the macabre has no other recourse but to stitch together the perfect boyfriend herself.
THIS IS TMI – LA Premiere
India| 2023 | 6 mins | English, Hindi, Nepali, Bengali
Category: Documentary, Animation
Directors: Subarna Dash, Vidushi Gupta
Producers: Subarna Dash, Vidushi Gupta
Screenwriter: n/a
Cinematographer: Pragadeesh Marimuthu
Editors: Subarna Dash, Vidushi Gupta
Cast: Sneha Das, Priyadarshini Subba
An animated and unfiltered chat amongst a group of women about all breasts, great and small.
WIRE & CLOTH – LA Premiere
USA | 2023 | 15 mins |English, Tamil
Category: Narrative, Documentary, Experimental
Director: Swetha Regunathan
Producers: Khaula Malik, Raj Trivedi
Screenwriter: Swetha Regunathan
Cinematographer: Lorena Durán
Editor: Swetha Regunathan
Cast: Devika Bhise, Samsara Leela Yett, Rebecca Hazlewood, Samrat Chakrabarti, Ajay Naidu
When opportunity comes knocking at her door, Hema, a fickle Indian immigrant mother in '90s New York City, sets out to transform overnight into a glamorous career woman. But her preteen daughter has other plans for her.
