Dear IFFLA audiences, patrons, and alumni!
We are absolutely thrilled to announce today the launch of a special virtual showcase, the first of its kind, IFFLA Over the Years: 17 days celebrating 17 years of Indian cinema.
Accessible via the IFFLA website (www.indianfilmfestival.org/over-the-years) beginning on June 19 through July 5, 2020--and already available for browsing--this virtual showcase of over 120 narrative features, documentaries, and short films by festival alumni is being made available by the participating filmmakers either for FREE or via popular streaming services. Many of these fascinating films have never seen a general release in the U.S.
IFFLA Over the Years is the festival’s response to the ongoing uncertainty in the film festival world. To that end, the previously announced 2020 lineup will be moved to 2021 so that filmmakers and audiences can join together and share the festival experience in person.
With this online showcase, you get to travel through 17 years of programming and join us in celebrating and re-discovering some of the most visionary voices of independent cinema from India and the Diaspora. Those among you who are recent IFFLA attendees will have a chance to catch up with films from our first decade, and our early attendees who could not join us in recent years are able to discover some of the newer gems we’ve presented. There is literally a film for everyone’s appetite!
What's more, we have curated IFFLA Over the Years into 12 diverse viewing experiences. To give you some examples:
“Humor Me Now” contains lighthearted, comedic stories such as the late Manish Acharya’s Loins of Punjab
“Grit and Thrills” focuses on darker themes in films like Anurag Kashyap‘s career-defining Gangs of Wasseypur
“A Female Lens” features films made by and/or centering on women such as Karishma Dev Dube’s Devi (Goddess)
“This Is Not Fiction” presents award-winning documentaries including Faiza Ahmad Khan‘s hilarious Supermen of Malegaon
“Diaspora Windows” shares stories of Indian characters living outside of India, such as including Lena Khan’s The Tiger Hunter
Good news is that you can begin browsing the lineup today itself! On Wednesday and Thursday June 17 & 18, the 125-film-strong lineup is available to browse, what with trailers, fimmaker and cast interviews to help you make your choices. And then starting Friday June 19, you can hit play!
This really is a joyous moment for us, and we cannot thank you enough for supporting us these past years. We also thank all the 2020 sponsors for their commitment and invaluable contribution. IFFLA Over the Years is made possible in part by the generous support of the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the LA Arts COVID Relief Fund initiated by the J. Paul Getty Trust Foundation and administered by the California Community Foundation.
Best wishes,
The Team at IFFLA