The New York Indian Film Festival has announced three of the films it will showcase during its annual week-long event in May.
The festival, which will take place May 7-12 at the Village East Cinemas in Manhattan, will screen “Sir,” “Photograph” and “The Last Color” throughout the week, followed by Q&As with their respective directors.
“We are proud to share a wonderful collection of new films from India,” festival director Aseem Chhabra wrote in a statement. “This selection of exceptional titles showcases the beauty, power and glory of film story telling at its best. Our audience will be excited by the protagonists and fall in love with their journeys.’
The festival will open May 7 with Rohena Gera’s “Sir.” The critically acclaimed film, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival last May, follows a wealthy Indian man who falls in love with his widowed servant.
“Photograph,” directed by Ritesh Batra, will serve as a Centerpiece screening May 10. Batra’s film, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival, is set in Mumbai as a struggling street photographer has a stranger pose as his fiancee after his grandmother pressures him to marry. Despite their vastly different upbringings, the two develop a surprising and heartwarming connection.
The festival will close with Vikas Khanna’s “The Last Color,” which follows nine-year tightrope walker Chhoti and her friend Noor as they struggle to survive on the streets of the ancient city of Banaras, India. While Chhoti works to up enough money to attend school, Noor suffers from a strict family life that forces abstinence and disallows her from attending festivities.
The Indo-American Arts Council will reveal the full lineup in the coming days. In the meantime, tickets to the festival can be purchased at http://www.iaac.us