Aseem Chhabra Film Festival Director Friends, Welcome to another exciting lineup of the New York Indian Film Festival. We started this year’s journey in the fall of 2016, when I began scouting for films at the Toronto International Film Festival, followed by festivals in Mumbai, Dharamsala, NFDC’s Film Bazaar in Goa, Dubai and Berlin. Over 250 films were reviewed by our four-member programming committee - Indo American Arts Council executive director Aroon Shivdasani, Pace University professor Satish Kolluri and South Asian Film Lab co-founder Giri Coneti. We had to make some tough choices, but I am thrilled with our selections representing new independent Indian cinema and as well works from the South Asian and Indian Diaspora. Our opening night film – Lipstick Under My Burkha is a rare film that explores the desires and fantasies of women in a small town in India. The film is in news for wrong reasons – it has been banned by the Indian censor board, but that makes it all the more important to screen it at NYIFF. Our closing night film – You Are My Sunday, is a fun story about a group of men in Mumbai looking for space to play soccer. And we present An Insignificant Man as the centerpiece – a remarkable film about grass-root politics in India. This year NYIFF will hold one sidebar – looking at the recent works of siblings Deepa Mehta (Anatomy of Violence) and Dilip Mehta (Mostly Sunny), followed by a conversation with the two about their works. Another special program showcases two films produced by the Bollywood star, Priyanka Chopra – Ventilator and Sarvaan. We have several National Award winning films programmed this year, and an excellent collection of shorts and documentaries. NYIFF continues with its commitment to bringing films from different parts of India in regional languages - Bengali, Haryanvi, Punjabi, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil. Finally, we would not have been able to present this year’s exciting films without the support of our sponsors. And special thanks to all our volunteers for their help, support and friendship. Over the next eight days you will explore new films, talk about movies, celebrate cinema and make new friends. Enjoy the New York Indian Film Festival! Aseem Chhabra Film Festival Director
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