Ramaavan – the musical is a unique take on the epic Ramayana
Browsing: IAAC
The much-awaited New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) which is presented by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) – a must-see during the summer – is once again coming to town. This time, with the changing times, it is a hybrid model with films being shown by zoom and also in person.
The New York Indian Film Festival is coming to you at home and bringing the best of indie films including regional films, women directed films as well as gay perspectives and social themes.
Dr. Nirmal Mattoo may be far away from the Vale of Kashmir, the place where he was born, but its sheer beauty, sense of community and native customs have stayed with him, even in far-off New York. He has tried to bring the wisdom and beauty of India, including that of his hometown, to share with the larger world.
Madhur Jaffrey, & Priya Krishna discuss the arc of Indian food in America, & their new books – Instantly Indian Cookbook and Indian-ish at IAAC’s event at DAG
From thought leaders and advocates in public spaces to the CEOs of corporations and start-ups to the hordes of unsung NYC cabbies, cooks and 711 workers – there are countless Indian stories waiting to be told. Indian brain cells, entrepreneurship and sweat equity are entwined with the success of America, and we will meet these famous, infamous and ordinary people every week.
Aroon Shivdasani says, “People came for the draw of the big names and stayed for the arts and got acquainted and learnt so much about lesser known artists and the excitement of their work.”
The New York Indian Film Festival, organized by the Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) has always prided itself on being about real people, ordinary people, and at the cinematic table there’s room for stories from every kind of independent film maker, in every format and in every regional language.
NYIFF 2018 promises tributes to Sridevi, Shashi Kapoor and a Merchant-Ivory Retrospective besides independent films, documentaries, shorts and regional films. A film buff’s dream!
1897 people reached on Lassi with Lavina Rita Sharma, Nita Anand and Tej Gursahani like…
4150 people reached on FB Lassi with Lavina page Opening Night at the New York…
dmit it – sometimes you just want to run away from mundane real life!
Well, here’s the perfect antidote, the perfect escape route… you get to follow four feisty Indian women and their secret desires, meet a famous sibling pair of filmmakers, encounter the truth about the controversial politico Arvind Kejriwal, come face to face with Satyajit Ray’s fascinating detective Feluda and check out two of your favorite stars who are picking up the megaphone and turning director! You even get to see the life story of a porn star turned Bollywood actor!
The event was the outdoor IAAC Erasing Borders Festival of Indian Dance which showcased topnotch talent from India and New York, turning the waterfront into a dance arena with hundreds of New Yorkers learning about the intricacies of Indian dance. Even Lady Liberty watched!
Predictably, the 16th Annual NYIFF (May 7 -14) is going to play havoc with your sleep cycle and your work life (and maybe even your love life) because you’ll want to sit zombie-like and see all the unexpected 40-plus offerings. You may as well give up your real life for a week!
Hundreds had gathered near New York harbour to watch the Erasing Borders Outdoor Dance Festival but there was an Audience of One who must have truly appreciated the lively tableaux that passed before her eyes – Lady Liberty.
Indeed, the Statue of Liberty has seen it all, the abandoned, the political refugees, the dreamers, the wanna-bes, the huddled masses – but here was a joyous rainbow of colors, of bright-eyed dancers celebrating their ancient culture, their aspirations and the diversity of America.
If you missed this festival, check out the upcoming indoor festival of dance!
What would be a filmiholic’s idea of heaven? A week full of back-to-back viewings of the most intriguing films, a mixed bag of drama, suspense, comedy and chills – by some of the most noted directors in Indian cinema. Think Vishal Bharadwaj, Shyam Benegal, Mani Ratnam, Aparna Sen, Hansal Mehta and Shonali Bose. Then there is the joy of seeing the work of so many regional filmmakers as well as getting to know so many new directors. Lots of films by Indian-American filmmakers too, including ‘Miss India America’ and ‘Meet the Patels’.
All this is happening at the upcoming New York Indian Film Festival with over 30 films, 30 alternate worlds to get lost in. You’ll find love, loss, laughter – and life…
Sometimes there’s a film so emotionally wrenching and yet so life-affirming that you just have to see it. Such a film is Shonali Bose’s ‘Margarita with a straw’ which opens the New York Indian Film Festival. In this unusual love story, a middle-class Indian teenager with cerebral palsy longs to experience that most basic of human desires – a love relationship. Sex and the disabled are hardly ever talked of in the same breath, and this brave film takes on this taboo topic
Anurag Kashyap. Aparna Sen. Buddhadeb Dasgupta. Gurinder Chadha. Nagesh Kuknoor. Nagraj Manjule. What if they all wandered into the New York night with megaphones and cameras and created their own tapestry of the city? While that did not happen, the combined star wattage of several talented directors certainly amped up the proceedings at the recent New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF).
It was quite surreal to sit just seats away from noted directors and dissect the movies with them after the screenings. What you realized was that all these directors were passionate fans of cinema and as anxious to catch new, offbeat films as the next moviegoer!
Dekh, cinema, dekh! In the old days, people in small towns and villages in India would wait anxiously for the traveling cinema to come to them with surprise offerings and entertainment.
In a way, the annual New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) does the same thing for New Yorkers who are a savvy lot. Yet the festival brings unexpected cinematic treats of found gems, lost stories and glimpses into lives lived.
The arts need creators, facilitators, patrons and an audience – and all were there in full measure at the IAAC 15th anniversary gala.
Salman Rushdie and Mira Nair both received awards for their contribution to the arts, as did Dr. Manjula Bansal for her contributions to medicine but also for being a stellar devotee and patron of the arts.
And the facilitator of the arts was there in the shape of Aroon Shivdasani, the founder and director of IAAC, who has brought art, music, dance and cinema to New York audiences for the past 15 years.