After a successful virtual presentation of its phenomenal 19th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles winners of the coveted awards have been announced. See list below:
FEATURES
GRAND JURY AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE:
Seththumaan (Pig) (director: Thamizh)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Biriyaani (director: Sajin Baabu)
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE:
Fire In The Mountains (director: Ajitpal Singh)
SHORTS
GRAND JURY PRIZE FOR BEST SHORT:
Bittu (director: Karishma Dev Dube)
HONORABLE MENTION:
For Each Other (director: Rima Das)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Wade (directors: Upamanyu Bhattacharyya and Kalp Sanghvi)
HONORABLE MENTION:
Nivita Chaliki for her performance in Forever Tonight (director: Swetha Regunathan)
AUDIENCE AWARD FOR BEST SHORT:
The Song We Sang (director: Aarti Neharsh)
The 2021 features jury was helmed by Milan Chakraborty (Head of Film at Marginal Mediaworks), Nathan Fischer (Founder of Paris based sales agency Stray Dogs), and Jenn Wilson (Co-Manager of the Film Independent Spirit Awards nomination process, and a senior programmer for the year-round member screening series Film Independent Presents).
The 2021 shorts jury was helmed by Tanuj Chopra (Director, Punching at the Sun, Staycation, Showrunner of season 2 of Delhi Crime on Netflix), Nik Dodani (Actor, CBS revival of Murphy Brown, and Alex Strangelove on Netflix), and Sakina Jaffrey (Actor, TNT’s Snowpiercer, and Defending Jacob on Apple TV+).
Closing Night Q&A
IFFLA 2021 closed with Sthalpuran (Chronicle of Space) by Akshay Indikar, the Marathi film that premiered at Berlinale 2020 and has captured the hearts of audiences at festivals around the world for its breathtaking minimalist exploration of the inner life of its young protagonist.
Long-time IFFLA alum Anurag Kashyap joined Indikar in a Q&A discussion, putting together an exciting up and coming independent filmmaker with one of the most celebrated independent filmmakers of our generation.
ABOUT THE INDIAN FILM FESTIVAL OF LOS ANGELES
The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, supporting emerging filmmakers, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.
Each year the festival features a rich mix of film programs designed to build and support the growing interest in the Indian entertainment industry. This includes programming that cultivates an audience for Indian films while supporting filmmakers of Indian descent in career development as they navigate the larger studio system in Hollywood. IFFLA’s industry programs include the One-on-One program where film industry professionals from major and independent production and distribution companies are invited to participate in meetings with the IFFLA filmmakers; and panel discussions with speakers from the film industry.
