NYIFF announces its 18th year.

The The New York Indian Film Festival celebrates its 18th year as one of the oldest South Asian film festivals in North America. Seven days of screenings, post-screening discussions, industry panels, award ceremony, special events, nightly networking parties, red carpet galas, media attention and packed audiences build an awareness of Indian cinema, entertain & educate North Americans about the real India, and add to the amazing cultural diversity of New York City.

The 2018 edition being held May 7th thru the 12th will feature films spanning from countries such as India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka as well as North America and the United Kingdom. Several US and international premieres are also scheduled.  The festival will open with the US premiere of Ravi Jadhav’s Marathi language film NUDE (with English subtitles) and close with the New York premiere of veteran NYIFF director Hansal Mehta’s biopic on Islamic fundamentalist Omar Saeed Sheikh, OMERTA. This year’s centerpiece slot will be occupied by Miransha Naik’s Konkoni language film JUZE (with English subtitles), making its North American premiere at NYIFF.

“NYIFF is known around the world for its top-notch, out-of-the-box programming, and this year is no different,” said founder Aroon Shivdasani. “The New York audience is sophisticated, well-traveled, educated and discerning; as such, our content reflects what we think will resonate with the cinephiles of this cosmopolitan city and will keep them coming back for more.”

The entire festival schedule, which comprises of 78 films in 11 different languages (English, Hindi, Marathi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Tulu, Konkani, Bengali & Assamese), is now available on the festival’s website HERE.

This year the festival will pay tribute to two Indian film industry icons who recently passed away. Hollywood/Bollywood actor Shashi Kapoor and the India’s first female superstar Sridevi. Kapoor’s tribute will comprise of two masterpieces from this year’s Academy Award Winner James Ivory’s wheelhouse: SHAKESPEARE WALLAH and HEAT AND DUST. The festival will also screen AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A PRINCESS, starring New York author and chef Madhur Jaffrey, as part of its Merchant-Ivory Retrospective. To honor Sridevi’s memory, NYIFF will showcase the actress’ 2012 return to Bollywood in ENGLISH VINGLISH, shot primarily in New York City. Follow Spotlife Asia for the complete coverage and updates.