The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles has announced the programming lineup for its 2022 edition, which includes Pan Nalin’s “Last Film Show” as a gala presentation.
The festival, which spotlights films made about the Indian diaspora from filmmakers of Indian heritage, will celebrate its 20th anniversary this year with a return to in-person screenings for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. Over the course of the festival, 10 feature films and 16 short films will be screened, including a world premiere and two North American premieres.
“Reflecting on IFFLA’s 20 years, we find ourselves overjoyed by the range of incredible talent we have discovered and celebrated, introducing numerous emerging and established voices to Los Angeles,” IFFLA executive director and founder Christina Marouda said in a statement. “We are also incredibly proud of the sense of family and community we have accomplished over the last 20 years. We are now ramping up our efforts to support the careers of filmmakers by adding to the programs IFFLA has become known for over the past two decades, not just as a touchstone for our filmmakers, but also as a bridge to their next films.”
“Jaggi,” the directorial debut of Anmol Sidhu, will make its world premiere at the festival. The coming-of-age drama focuses on a schoolboy in rural Punjab who faces bullying and sexual abuse from his classmates. Natesh Hegde’s “Pedro” and Faraz Ali’s “Shoebox” will make their North American premieres during the festival. “Shoebox” focuses on a family struggling to keep their small, single-screen movie theater open, while “Pedro” tells the story of an electrician who becomes an outcast in his small Karnataka town following a drunken incident. IFFLA also announced that “Last Film Show” will screen during the festival as a special gala presentation. Directed by Pan Nali, the film focuses on a young boy who attempts to open up a film theater with his friends. An additional gala presentation will be announced by IFFLA at a later date.
To celebrate the 20th edition of the festival, IFFLA also announced an inaugural Spotlight on South Asia series, which will screen films coming from the South Asian subcontinent and its diasporas. Films that will screen as part of the series include Cannes film festival selection “Rehana (Rehana Maryam Noor)” from Abdullah Mohammad Saad, and shorts such as “1978” from Hamza Bangash, “Bad Omen” from Salar Pashtoonyar and “Moshari” from Nuhash Humayun. The festival will also celebrate its anniversary with a presentation of 20 short films that have screened at the festival over the years and a special reading of IFFLA alum Kahlil Maskati’s feature film script “Alim Uncle.” During the festival, IFFLA leadership is expected to announce details regarding a mentorship program for emerging South Asian filmmakers.
The 2022 IFFLA festival will take place from April 28 to May 1. Screenings of the films will take place at Regal LA Live, Harmony Gold and UCLA’s James Bridges Theater. Visit IFFLA’s website for the full lineup.