The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is an annual film festival in New York City. It screens films relating to India, the Indian Diaspora, and the work of Indian filmmakers. The festival began in November 2001 and was founded by Aroon Shivdasani and the Indo-American Arts Council. About 40 films are screened, including feature films, shorts, documentaries, and animated films.

New York Indian Film Festival History:

The Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (IAAC) was established in November 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks with the aim of educating the community about Indian Culture.

The first festival took place at the Imagin Asian Theatre. Subsequent festivals have been hosted by Tribeca Cinemas, The Walter Read Theater at The Lincoln Center, Asia Society, Aicon Gallery, Cantor Film Center at New York University, and SVA Theaters. In 2011, the opening night ceremony was held at the Paris Theater.

In 2007, the festival partnered with The Mahindra Group to help the festival grow and reach wider audiences. The festival also changed its name to The Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival (MIAAC).

The festival introduced one-minute cell phone films in 2008, collaborating with NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, New York Film Academy, and Whistling Woods International. In 2011, it moved from November to May, with Aseem Chhabra as the new director, and was renamed The New York Indian Film Festival.

In 2022, the festival will showcase several Indian films, including Shoe Box, Boomba Ride (Assamese), and My Mother’s Girlfriend.

read: NDTV Indian of the Year Award: List Of Winners of the Year 2023-2024, Award Category & More

The Festival

Every year, the festival showcases approximately 40 films from Indian filmmakers, or films relating to India or the Indian Diaspora. During the festival, industry panels and discussions with filmmakers are held, with Q&As after the screenings.

Frequent festival attendees include Mira Nair, Salman Rushdie, Padma Lakshmi, Shabana Azmi, and Deepa Mehta.

The festival typically features a retrospective to honor a distinguished filmmaker, artist, or actor, showcasing several of their most acclaimed films. Past retrospectives have featured Mira Nair, Smita Patil, and Rabindranath Tagore.

The 12th NYIFF will feature a retrospective of the Indian film director Shyam Benegal.

List Of films that had their New York or World Premiere at NYIFF

Category	Winner	Details
Best Actress	Bala Hijam Ningthoujam	Bala Hijam Ningthoujam (actress) – Lembi Leima
Best Short Film	Lembi Leima	Lembi Leima (Short Film) – Bijou Thaangjam (Producer), Mayank Pratap Singh (Director)
Best Supporting Actor	Bijou Thaangjam	Bijou Thaangjam (Actor) – Lembi Leima (Short Film)
Best Feature Film (Indian)	LOVE ME, STUPID	LOVE ME, STUPID – Love Me Stupid (original title) – Buvana Ram
Best Indian Music Video	Bewafa	Bewafa – Bijou Thaangjam, Tarab Kureishy
Best Visionary Film	1888	1888 – Sourabh Shukla

visit: American Indian Film Festival: Awards, Winners List & More

Jury

The festival’s jury consists of 13 members who have worked in both the Indian and American film industries. KPMG monitors and collects the jury’s votes.

List Of Juries:-

Name	Profession
Poorna Jagannathan	Actress
Ashish Avikunthak	Professor
Myrna Moncayo-Iyengar	Corporate Strategist
Udayan Gupta	Journalist
Muriel (Mike) Peters	Producer
Sabrina Dhawan	Screenwriter
Kavery Kaul	Filmmaker
Madhur Jaffrey	Actress
Jerry Carlson	Professor
Claus Mueller	Professor
Parag Amladi	Film Scholar
Zenobia Shroff	Actress
Nilita Vachani	Documentary Filmmaker

List Of Juries

New York Indian Film Festival

Awards

Best Actor

Best Actress

Best Child Actor

Best Debut Film

Best Director

Best Documentary

Best Documentary by a Women Filmmaker

Best Film

Best Screenplay

Best Short Film

Jury Award