The 2024 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced its lineup for the 22nd annual edition of the internationally acclaimed film festival. The festival is moving back to Hollywood at Landmark Theatres Sunset and runs June 27-30.
IFFLA will showcase twenty films, including seven narrative features, twelve shorts, and one docu-series with a diverse lineup of films from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan and the United States, bringing together South Asian stories and perspectives from around the globe.
The festival will open with the Los Angeles premiere of Tarsem Singh’s forbidden romance Dear Jassi and close with Nithilan Saminathan’s Tamil film Maharaja, a twisted revenge saga starring phenomenal actor Vijay Sethupathi and maverick filmmaker Anurag Kashyap playing the villain. Features include the special presentation of stylized violence in Kill, written and directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat and produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga; the coming-of-age story Sundance winner Girls Will Be Girls, written and directed by Shuchi Talati; the award-winning filmmaker Christo Tomy’s film Undercurrent, which explores the powerful themes of female solidarity; a tender love story Ben and Suzanne, A Reunion in 4 Parts, written and directed by Shaun Seneviratne, and the touching tale A House Named Shahana, by Leesa Gazi and co-written by Aanon Siddiqui.
On June 28th the festival is launching IFFLA Industry Day, the first-of-its-kind, day-long forum for South Asian film and TV executives and creatives sharing their stories within this underrepresented community. Industry Day will spotlight exciting South Asian voices, while attendees will have educational opportunities to hear first-hand expert advice from industry professionals. The pinnacle event of Industry Day is Launch Pad: A Pitch Competition the winner of which will receive a $10,000 development grant. The full Industry Day lineup will be announced in early June.
IFFLA will kick off the festival with visionary director Tarsem Singh's film Dear Jassi. This tragic love story inspired by true events, bookends with the Punjabi folklore verses. The film follows Jassi, a Canadian-born Indian girl who falls in love with Mithu, a rickshaw driver from a lower social class. Through their instant attraction, they must confront the reality of societal expectations imposed by Jassi’s family. The film stars Pavia Sidhu (The Flash, Vellai Pookal) and Yugam Sood in his acting feature debut.
This year's closing night selection is one of India's highly anticipated films, starring popular actor Vijay Sethupath in his milestone 50th outing, Maharaja. The Tamil film, written and directed by Nithilan Saminathan, is an action-packed thriller about a group of men seeking revenge with twisted turns along the way. Maharaja will have its LA premiere at IFFLA with the director, producers, and cast in attendance.
IFFLA is excited to collaborate with American Cinematheque and Beyond Fest with a screening of the martial arts thriller Kill at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood. The film, which premiered at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival and won the Midnight Madness First Runner-Up Award, is directed by Nikhil Nagesh Bhat and produced by Karan Johar and Guneet Monga. Kill will be released by Lionsgate Films and Roadside Attractions in U.S. theaters on July 4, and in India on July 5.
In its U.S. premiere, IFFLA will host a special screening of two episodes of the powerful documentary series Defiance: Fighting the Far Right, which shines a light on an extraordinary protest movement led by young British Asians in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s to oppose anti-immigrant rhetoric and assaults. Produced by the Academy Award-winning actor and producer Riz Ahmed and Rogan Productions, the series is directed by the Primetime Emmy Award-winner Satiyesh Manoharajah, with Rajesh Thind directing the 3rd episode.
IFFLA’s Artistic Director Anu Rangachar said, “The eclectic lineup covering most of the vast and diverse South Asian regions, including the diaspora, is directed by a majority of incredibly talented first-time filmmakers debuting with their works. The lineup organically reveals some of the themes such as solidarity and resilience, tender love, and familial violence, inherent to the South Asian communities around the globe.”
This year's shorts competition includes a diverse range of female-centric stories, featuring the work of 6 talented female directors. The lineup presents an impressive selection of stories with diaspora and coming-of-age themes, told in ten different languages. It boasts two world premieres, including Hema directed by Ritvik Dhavale and starring Rajshri Deshpande (Angry Indian Goddesses, Sacred Games), about an Indian woman's journey to rediscover her new purpose in life after moving to Los Angeles for her husband's job, and debut director Shashwat Dwivedi’s comedic coming-of-age Bobby Beauty Parlour, directed by Shashwat Dwivedi and produced by Anurag Kashyap.
Additional notable short premieres include Wire & Cloth, written and directed by IFFLA alum Swetha Regunathan, about a mother and daughter struggling to connect. IFFLA alum Theja Rio returns to the festival with Ade (On A Sunday), the touching short that premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam earlier this year. Also making her directorial debut in film, actress and theater director Yuki Ellias comes to IFFLA with the North American premiere of her subversive political comedy Lovely & Tip Top.
Other short premieres include the Cannes award-winning Nepali film Lori, written and directed by Abinash Bikram Shah; Last Days Of Summer, written and directed by Stenzin Tankong, and This is TMI, co-written and co-directed by Subarna Dash and Vidushi Gupta.
Opening and Closing Galas will take place at Writers Guild Theater in Beverly Hills (135 S Doheny Drive), and all other screenings will be at Landmark Theatres Sunset (8000 Sunset Blvd).
IFFLA is supported by NBCUniversal, Joy of Sharing Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, and the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs, among other sponsors.
