The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is an annual film festival held in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

. Established by Christina Marouda in 2003, as a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

devoted to paving the way for a greater appreciation of

Indian cinema The Cinema of India consists of motion pictures produced in India, which had a large effect on world cinema since the late 20th century. Major centers of film production across the country include Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Visakhapatnam, ...

Greek-born Christina Marouda has dedicated herself to the cause of promoting Indian cinema overseas
''

The Telegraph (Kolkata) ''The Telegraph'' is an Indian English daily newspaper founded and continuously published in Kolkata since 7 July 1982. It is published by the ABP Group and the newspaper competes with '' The Times of India''. The newspaper is the eighth most- ...

'', 17 December 2005. and diverse

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups ...

by providing the public with a selection of films from and about the

Indian diaspora Overseas Indians (IAST: ), officially Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) and Overseas Citizens of India (OCIs) are Indians who live outside of the Republic of India. According to the Government of India, ''Non-Resident Indians'' are citizens of Indi ...

by Indian and international filmmakers.Dual highlights of 6th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles
''

Screen Screen or Screens may refer to: Arts * Screen printing (also called ''silkscreening''), a method of printing * Big screen, a nickname associated with the motion picture industry * Split screen (filmmaking), a film composition paradigm in which mul ...

'', 8 April 2008. It features, documentaries and shorts and presents Grand Jury and Audience Choice awards in the following categories: Best Feature, Best Documentary, and Best Short. The IFFLA's Cinematic Scoring Achievement Award is given to composers, honoring film scores. In 2022, the festival is completing 20 years of existence.

Founding

Marouda, a film lover of

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

descent established the festival to garner greater appreciation amongst Western audiences to all forms of Cinema in India. Growing up in

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, she watched several Indian films, growing up with the films of Satyajit Ray and

Nargis Nargis Dutt (born Fatima Rashid; 1 June 1929 – 3 May 1981) was an Indian actress and politician who worked in Hindi cinema. Regarded as one of the greatest actresses in the history of Indian cinema, she made her screen debut in a minor role ...

, and watched several mainstream

Bollywood Hindi cinema, popularly known as Bollywood and formerly as Bombay cinema, refers to the film industry based in Mumbai, engaged in production of motion pictures in Hindi language. The popular term Bollywood, is a portmanteau of "Bombay" (fo ...

films, Bengali films and

Tamil films Tamil cinema, also known as Kollywood is a part of Indian Cinema; primarily engaged in production of motion pictures in the Tamil language. Based out of the Kodambakkam neighbourhood in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, it is popularly called ''Kollywo ...

during a trip to India in 1999. Whilst enjoying the "ride from laughter to crying" that Hindi films can take audiences on, the festival was not looking to promote Bollywood cinema as much for there were already outlets for this. Marouda has expressed her admiration for director

Mani Ratnam Gopala Ratnam Subramaniam (born 2 June 1956), known professionally as Mani Ratnam, is an Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer who predominantly works in Tamil cinema and few Hindi, Telugu and Kannada films. Ratnam has won six ...

Rajiv Menon Rajiv Menon (born 20 April 1963) is an Indian filmmaker who has worked as a director and cinematographer in several Indian regional film industries. After making his breakthrough as a film cinematographer with Mani Ratnam's drama ''Bombay'' (19 ...

's ''

Kandukondain Kandukondain ''Kandukondain Kandukondain'' (also released internationally under the translated title ''I Have Found It'') is a 2000 Indian Tamil-language romantic drama film directed and co-written by Rajiv Menon. Based on Jane Austen's 1811 novel '' Sense ...

'' and

The Apu Trilogy ''The Apu Trilogy'' comprises three Indian Bengali-language drama films directed by Satyajit Ray: '' Pather Panchali'' (1955), '' Aparajito'' (1956) and '' The World of Apu'' (1959). The original music for the films was composed by Ravi Shanka ...

Individual festivals

2003

The first IFFLA was held in 2003. ;Awards: Audience Award for Best Picture - '' Kannathil Muthamittal'' (

)

2004

2005

2006

;Awards: :Cinematic Scoring achievement Award -

Gingger Shankar Gingger Shankar is an American singer, composer and multi-instrumentalist. She has scored several films, including '' Circumstance''. Early life Shankar was born in Los Angeles, California and raised there and in India. She is the eldest daugh ...

:: Shankar is a Tamil violinist who received the award for her contributions to ''

The Passion of the Christ ''The Passion of the Christ'' is a 2004 American epic biblical drama film produced, directed and co-written by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as Mary, mother of Jesus, and Monica Bellucci as Mary ...

.''

2007

April 17–22, 2007 at ArcLight Hollywood. The festival was attended by

Quentin Tarantino Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...

. : Opening Night film : '' Provoked'' (

Jag Mundhra Jagmohan "Jag" Mundhra (29 October 1948 – 4 September 2011) was an Indian director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his early career as an American exploitation film writer-director. Family and early life Mundhra was born at Nagp ...

) : Closing Night film :

Vanaja (film) ''Vanaja'' is a 2006 Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli on a story that constituted his Master of Fine Arts thesis at Columbia University. The film was made on a shoestring budget using a cast of non-professio ...

(

Rajnesh Domalpalli ''Vanaja'' is a 2006 Telugu-language drama film written and directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli on a story that constituted his Master of Fine Arts thesis at Columbia University. The film was made on a shoestring budget using a cast of non-profes ...

). : Tribute Honorée :

Deepti Naval Deepti Naval (born 3 February 1952) is an Indian-born American actress, director, and writer, predominantly active in Hindi cinema. Her major contribution has been in the area of art cinema, winning critical acclaim for her sensitive and 'clos ...

. ;Awards: Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature: VALLEY OF FLOWERS (Pan Nalin) : Special Mention, VANAJA directed by Rajnesh Domalpalli Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary: Q2P (Paromita Vohra) Grand Jury Prize for Best Short: TEA BREAK ( Srinivas Sunderrajan) : Special Mention, PRINTED RAINBOW directed by Gitanjali Rao Audience Award for Best Feature: '' Outsourced'' Directed by

John Jeffcoat John Jeffcoat is an American film director. He is most popular for his film '' Outsourced'' starring Josh Hamilton and Ayesha Dharker. The film was adapted as a television series, and ran for one season before being cancelled. John Jeffcoat gra ...

Audience Award for Best Documentary: DIVIDED WE FALL directed by Sharat Raju Audience Award for Best Short: MONSOON directed by Shyam Balsé

2008

22–27 April 2008 at ArcLight Hollywood. :Tribute honoree:

Madhuri Dixit Madhuri Dixit Nene (née Dixit; born 15 May 1967) is an Indian actress who primarily works in Hindi films. A leading actress of Indian cinema, she has appeared in over 70 films. Noted by critics for her beauty, dancing skills, and characters ...

. :Opening gala:

Amal Amal may refer to: * Amal (given name) * Åmål, a small town in Sweden * Amal Movement, a Lebanese political party ** Amal Militia, Amal Movement's defunct militia * Amal language of Papua New Guinea * Amal (film), ''Amal'' (film), 2007, directed ...

(

Richie Mehta Richie Mehta is a Canadian film director and writer. His first feature film, '' Amal'', was released in 2008, and was nominated for Best Motion Picture and Best Director at the 29th Genie Awards. In 2013, Mehta released two films he wrote ...

) :Closing gala: Mumbai Cutting...A City Unfolds ;Program: : Docu shorts (QUAMAR - WORKING TO LIVE, SILENT HUES, UNDER THE AHMEDABAD SKY (Sotto Il Cielo Di Ahmedabad)) : BEFORE THE RAINS, A HOME IN THE SKY (Aevdhese Aabhaal), FOUR WOMEN (Naalu Pennungal), SUPER 30 (preceded by THE LOST RAINBOW) : Narrative shorts (BEAST, LOVE STORY, THE LOST RAINBOW (Haravilele Indradhanush), MIDNIGHT LOST AND FOUND, THE MORNING RITUAL, THE RETURN (Vaapsi), REWIND, SARI (W)RAP, THREE OF US) : KISSING COUSINS, THE POOL, LOST MOON (Khoya Khoya Chand), FROZEN :

tribute: THE DEATH SENTENCE (

Mrityudand ''Mrityudand'' (English: ''Death Sentence'') is an Indian Hindi drama film released in 1997. It was directed and produced by Prakash Jha and stars Madhuri Dixit, Shabana Azmi, Ayub Khan, Mohan Agashe and Om Puri. The film is a commentary on t ...

), JOHNNY GADDAAR : Narrative shorts (BEAST, LOVE STORY, THE LOST RAINBOW (Haravilele Indradhanush), MIDNIGHT LOST AND FOUND, THE MORNING RITUAL, THE RETURN (Vaapsi), REWIND, SARI (W)RAP, THREE OF US) : MY HEART IS CRAZY (

Dil To Pagal Hai ''Dil To Pagal Hai'' (; ), is a 1997 Indian Hindi-language musical romance film directed by Yash Chopra. The film follows the love lives of the members of a musical troupe, in which two dancers played by Madhuri Dixit and Karisma Kapoor get ent ...

), THE SEA WITHIN (Ore Kadal), THE GLOW OF WHITE WOMEN : AN UNENDING JOURNEY, Shot in Bombay, BOBBY : Docu Shorts (QUAMAR - WORKING TO LIVE, SILENT HUES, UNDER THE AHMEDABAD SKY (Sotto Il Cielo Di Ahmedabad)) : STARS ON EARTH (

Taare Zameen Par ''Taare Zameen Par'', also known as ''Like Stars on Earth'' in English, is a 2007 Indian Hindi-language drama film produced and directed by Aamir Khan. The film stars Khan himself, along with Darsheel Safary, Tanay Chheda, Sachet Engineer, Vi ...

), THE SKY BELOW

2009

April 21–27, 2009. : Opening Night Gala:

The Fakir of Venice ''The Fakir of Venice'' is a 2019 Hindi-language comedy drama film directed by Anand Surapur. The film stars Farhan Akhtar, Annu Kapoor and Kamal Sidhu in the lead roles and is written by Rajesh Devraj with a story from Homi Adajania. It was pre ...

( Anand Surapur) : Centerpiece Gala: Heaven on Earth ( Deepa Mehta) : Closing Gala: Yes Madam, Sir (docu,

Megan Doneman Megan is a Welsh feminine given name, originally a diminutive form of Margaret. Margaret is from the Greek μαργαρίτης (''margarítēs''), Latin ''margarīta'', "pearl". Megan is one of the most popular Welsh-language names for women in ...

) ;Awards: Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature: Sita Sings the Blues (Nina Paley) ;Program: : SIKANDAR - Piyush Jha, FIRAAQ - Nandita Das, AIR INDIA 182 (docu, Sturla Gunnarsson), THE DAMNED RAIN (Gabhricha Paus, Satish Manwar), : GANDHI, MY FATHER - Feroz Abbas Khan, LITTLE ZIZOU - Sooni Taraporevala, LEAVING HOME: THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF INDIAN OCEAN (Docu, Jaideep Varma) : QUICK GUN MURUGAN - Shashank Ghosh, VIRASAT - Priyadarshan, KANCHIVARAM (Priyadarshan), CHILDREN OF THE PYRE (docu, Rajesh S. Jala), :

Sita Sings the Blues ''Sita Sings the Blues'' is a 2008 American animated musical romantic comedy-drama film written, directed, produced and animated by American artist Nina Paley. It intersperses events from the ''Ramayana'', light-hearted but knowledgeable disc ...

(

Nina Paley Nina Carolyn Paley (born May 3, 1968) is an American cartoonist, animator, and free culture movement, free culture activist. She was the artist and often the writer of the comic strips ''Nina's Adventures'' and ''Fluff'', after which she worked ...

), SIDDHARTH THE PRISONER (Pryas Gupta), BOMBAY SUMMER (Joseph Mathew Varghese), LAMHE (Yash Chopra) : DHIN TAK DHA (short, Shraddha Pasi),

Supermen of Malegaon ''Supermen of Malegaon'' (''Malegaon Ka Superman'') is a 2012 Hindi documentary film written and directed by Faiza Ahmad Khan. This documentary was released on 29 June 2012 in cinemas. Cast * Sameer khan * Imand Shaik * badshah khan * Akram Kh ...

(Faiza Ahmad Khan), NAYA DAUR (B.R. Chopra), 7 DAYS IN SLOW MOTION ( Umakanth Thumrugoti)

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

2017

2018

Audience Award for Best Picture - '' Take Off'' (

Mahesh Narayanan Mahesh Narayanan (born 2 May 1982) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, editor and cinematographer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, he has also worked in Tamil cinema, Tamil and Bollywood, Hindi films. He is a recipient of the ...

)

2019

April 11–14, 2019 at Regal L.A. Opening Night Gala:

Andhadhun ''Andhadhun'' () is a 2018 Indian Hindi-language black comedy crime thriller film co-written and directed by Sriram Raghavan. It stars Tabu, Ayushmann Khurrana, Radhika Apte and Anil Dhawan. The film tells the story of a blind piano player ...

Centerpiece Gala: Closing Gala: The Odds

Awards

Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature: Wisdom of Silence The audience awards: Vivek/Reason

References

External links

Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles official website
* ttp://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/awards_festivals/news/e3ia51ae029511c6ba9b7cd5c984f93cc5c The Hollywood Reporter (article) - Indian film fest hits L.A. on April 22br>The Times of India (article) - A cut above the rest?
{{DEFAULTSORT:Indian Film Festival Of Los Angeles Asian-American film festivals Indian-American culture in Los Angeles L Film festivals in Los Angeles 2003 establishments in California Film festivals established in 2003