Editor

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced today its 2013 jury, as well as four films that have been added to the program – Toronto Film Festival favorite SHIP OF THESEUS in its U.S. Premiere; the powerful environmental documentary narrated by Darryl Hannah, PAD YATRA: A GREEN JOURNEY; the Walt Disney animated Family Day film ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE; and short film IRON TRACKS (LOHPATH).  In addition, two Panel Discussions have been added to the schedule, which will explore issues of importance to Indian entertainment and cinema today.

 Three juries will award prizes to the best of the competition films in the categories of Feature, Short, and Documentary films. In addition to the jury prizes, the audience will have a chance to cast their ballots for the same categories.  Award winners will be announced during the festival’s Closing Night, just prior to the Los Angeles premiere of OscarÓ-nominated Deepa Mehta’s MIDNIGHT’S CHILDREN.

The 2013 feature film jurors are: International Director of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute Paul Federbush, director/editor/writer Kanika Myer (HALO, HEART OF INDIA), and Assistant Curator of Film Programs at LACMA Bernardo Rondeau. The Best Documentary Award will be decided by The Hollywood Reporter and Los Angeles Times film critic Sheri Linden, Senior Programmer at Film Independent Maggie Mackay, and Academy Awardâ-nominated filmmaker Jessica Sanders (AFTER INNOCENCE). Judging the short films are filmmaker and IFFLA alum Prashant Bhargava (PATANG), Film Curator and Director of Industry Programming at Palm Springs ShortFest Kathleen McInnis, and actress Sheetal Sheth (ABCD, LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD).

Four distinguished films have been added to the festival’s already impressive line up: SHIP OF THESEUS, a critical and audience favorite at the Toronto Film Festival last year, reveals an original and razor sharp directorial voice in this feature debut from playwright Anand Gandhi in its U.S. Premiere; PAD YATRA: A GREEN JOURNEY, a stunning documentary about a treacherous journey to spread the word about global warming shot with solar power by Ladakhi monk Ngawang Sodpa and narrated by Daryl Hannah; ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE, a spectacular animated film from Walt Disney and UTV Motion Pictures that will screen as the centerpiece of the festival’s Family Day activities; and the short film IRON TRACKS (LOHPATH), an ode to the innocence corrupted and humanity lost in the vicious victimization of children.

 Two Panel Discussions that will explore issues of importance to Indian entertainment and cinema today will take place on Saturday, April 13.  LAUGHING AT OURSELVES: A Conversation with Actors and Creatives features actors Kunal Nayyar (The Big Bang Theory), Sarayu Rao (Monday Mornings), and Hannah Simone (New Girl), as well as Producer Sunil Nayar (Revenge) and writer/producer Luvh Rakhe (New Girl).  The panel will be moderated by actor Parvesh Cheena (Outsourced), and is presented by SAG-AFTRA National Ethnic Employment Opportunities Committee, EEO & Diversity Department and SAGIndie.

 A second panel, TODAY’S PIONEER VOICES CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF INDIAN CINEMA, features some of the most innovative directors leading the independent movement in Indian cinema today, all of whom have films at the festival this year: Vasan Bala (PEDDLERS), Anand Gandhi (SHIP OF THESEUS), Hansal Mehta (SHAHID), and Nitin Kakkar (FILMISTAAN).  The panel will be moderated by film critic Lisa Tsering. One $14 ticket grants access to both panels and can be purchased at the IFFLA website.

"This year, as we celebrate the centennial of Indian Cinema, there is an incredibly exciting independent movement flourishing within India,” said IFFLA’s Head Programmer Terrie Samundra. “Our dynamic and diverse line up, panel discussions, as well as the jury, reflects this movement, and provides a platform for the deeply passionate voices of our new story tellers.”

More information about the festival can be found at http://www.indianfilmfestival.org.

 Tickets and Passes

The 11th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) runs April 9-14 at ArcLight Hollywood located at 6360 W. Sunset Blvd between Vine and Ivar. Festival Passes and Gala tickets are currently on sale at the festival's website. Individual screening tickets go on sale March 22. For more information please visit www.indianfilmfestival.org or follow us on Twitter (@iffla).

 About IFFLA

Now in its 11th year, 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, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora.

 The six-day festival is the premiere platform for the latest in cutting edge global Indian cinema and bridges the gap between the two largest entertainment industries in the world – Hollywood and India. The festival will showcase more than 35 films from the Indian filmmaking community across the globe, host the highly anticipated opening and closing red carpet galas, and the closing awards ceremony. This year will again bring back the wildly popular “Bollywood by Night” series, and feature seminars as well as live music and dance performances. IFFLA will also host the 6th annual Industry Leadership Awards, honoring entertainment industry executives who have demonstrated extraordinary leadership within and in relation to the Indian entertainment industry.

 For more information:
http://www.indianfilmfestival.org
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/indianfilmfestival
Twitter: https://twitter.com/iffla

 About ArcLight Cinemas

ArcLight Cinemas, created by Pacific Theatres, represents an evolution in the movie going experience. ArcLight Cinemas, with locations in Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, Pasadena, and El Segundo, offers an unprecedented combination of technology, amenities, comfort, and customer service. Facilities include the historic Cinerama Dome (only at the Hollywood location) and state-of-the-art "black box" auditoriums as well as a cafe bar and a cinema-focused gift shop. Tickets can be purchased online without a fee and printed at home and at the theaters' automated ticketing kiosks. For more information about ArcLight visit www.ArcLightcinemas.com.

 2013 Jury By Category:

 2013 FEATURES JURY

 PAUL FEDERBUSH is the International Director of the Feature Film Program at the Sundance Institute and brings with him 17 years experience as an acquisitions and distribution executive, spanning both the independent and studio film communities. His work at Sundance includes a screenwriting lab in India, in partnership with Mumbai Mantra. Most recently, Federbush and partner Laura Kim formed Red Flag Releasing, a distribution company with a deal at Warner Bros. Prior to Red Flag, Federbush served as Senior Vice President of Production and Acquisitions at Warner Bros’ specialized division, Warner Independent Pictures (WIP). As one of its founding members, Federbush oversaw acquisition, development and production on such Academy Award® winners as SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE and MARCH OF THE PENGUINS, as well as Sundance lab project PARADISE NOW.

KANIKA MYER is a distinguished director, editor, and writer. As a principal of BharatBala Productions she has been associated with many award winning and high profile projects. She was the editor of HARI OM and the National Award winning HALO, as well as co-director on HEART OF INDIA, an IMAX film about the Taj Mahal. She has directed and edited short films as well as collaborated with celebrated musical artists such as Lata Mangeshkar and composer A.R. Rahman on projects including JANA GANA MANA, celebrating India’s National anthem. Her experience directing commercials for various prestigious brands add to her versatility. An alumnae of two prestigious UCLA screenwriting programs and one creative producing program, she has completed five screenplays and is now focusing on the creative development of feature films.

 BERNARDO RONDEAU, Assistant Curator, Film Programs, LACMA, was born in Rio De Janeiro, lived briefly in Japan and is based in Los Angeles. He has been programming screenings and film series at LACMA since 2007, ranging from showcases of Hong Kong action films to the Los Angeles premieres of the Spalding Gray documentary AND EVERYTHING IS GOING FINE, Rainer-Werner Fassbinder’s sci-fi epic WORLD ON A WIRE, and Allan Sekula/Noel Burch’s THE FORGOTTEN SPACE to an all-day Vincent Price marathon and a complete Andrei Tarkovsky retrospective. He programmed the first ever Los Angeles retrospectives of Bela Tarr, Bong joon-ho, Sergei Paradjanov, Tim Burton, Lee Chang-dong, Michael Haneke and Edward Yang. Rondeau serves as an Associate Programmer at AFI FEST and he has an MA in Film Studies from UCLA, where he co-founded The Crank, a graduate-student organization that programs public screenings of archival prints.

 2013 DOCUMENTARY JURY

 SHERI LINDEN is a film critic for the Los Angeles Times and The Hollywood Reporter. Before focusing on freelance writing, she created the position of film reviews editor at Variety and was a senior editor in The Hollywood Reporter's international department. Her reviews, essays and features have appeared in Variety, Buzz Weekly, Art & Antiques, Boxoffice, and on the Reuters news service. She was a contributor to the TCM book Leading Men: The 50 Most Unforgettable Actors of the Studio Era. A New York native and longtime resident of Los Angeles, she has been a member of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association since 2003.

 MAGGIE MACKAY is the Senior Programmer at Film Independent. Her interest in film developed as a small child in her hometown of New York City, where she spent hours with her mother at Film Forum, transfixed by films highly inappropriate for her young age.  As an adolescent, Mackay went on to discover the (sadly) now defunct Rare Bird Video. There she spent an equally inordinate amount of time in the store’s odd smelling but deeply inspirational basement, which housed thousands of titles and a remarkably patient staff that never kicked her out. Mackay has worked as a freelance programmer, writer, script reader, on-set production coordinator, and Senior Coordinator of the Sundance Documentary Fund.

 JESSICA SANDERS is an Academy Awardâ-nominated filmmaker and award-winning commercial director. Steve Jobs hand-picked Sanders to direct Apple's national iPad launch spot. She directed and wrote AFTER INNOCENCE, a feature documentary film about innocent men, wrongfully convicted and exonerated by DNA after spending decades in prison. The film premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the Special Jury Prize, and was later short-listed for the 78th Academy Awardsâ. Jessica's new film MARCH OF THE LIVING is about the last generation of Holocaust survivors returning to the sites of the Holocaust in Poland with teenagers from Sao Paolo, Berlin and Los Angeles. The film opens theatrically summer 2013.

2013 SHORTS JURY

 PRASHANT BHARGAVA is an award winning filmmaker. His filmmaking builds from his pioneering work as a commercial director and motion designer. Bhargava's feature length directorial debut, PATANG (The Kite), currently in theaters, is receiving rave reviews. The New York Times selected PATANG as a Critics Pick, celebrating its "lovely, unforced quality." Bhargava’s latest collaboration with Grammy nominated musician Vijay Iyer, a film with live orchestral music, is entitled RADHE RADHE: RITES OF HOLI. RADHE RADHE is a journey of sexual desire and primal devotion during the vibrant celebration of Holi in Mathura, India.

 KATHLEEN MCINNIS, Film Curator and Director of Industry Programming at Palm Springs ShortFest, is a film strategist with a distinctive background in film festivals and publicity consulting.McInnis has been Festival Director, Director of Programming, and/or Director of Publicity & Promotion at such festivals as Seattle International Film Festival, Slamdance Film Festival, Cinerama Reel Film Festival and Palm Springs ShortFest. McInnis is currently an assistant professor teaching film festival and exit strategies at NYU-Tisch/Asia and UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television.

 SHEETAL SHETH burst onto the scene with raves in the groundbreaking film, ABCD. Having starred in more than 18 features, she has earned a loyal following. Perhaps best known to mainstream audiences for starring opposite Albert Brooks in LOOKING FOR COMEDY IN THE MUSLIM WORLD, Sheth is a favorite in the indie world, celebrated for her provocative, wide range of performances. She won three Best Actress festival nods for THE WORLD UNSEEN, and one for WINGS OF HOPE. She was voted ‘Favorite Movie Actress’ in AfterEllen’s 2012 Visibility Awards. Latest television and voice-overs include BLUE BLOODS and LIFE OF PI.

 About the Panels:

 LAUGHING AT OURSELVES: A Conversation with Actors and Creatives
Presented by SAG-AFTRA National Ethnic Employment Opportunities Committee, EEO & Diversity Department and SAGIndie
Saturday, April 13 at 1:00 PM

Kunal Nayyar (actor, Big Bang Theory), Hannah Simone (actor, New Girl), Sarayu Rao (actor, Monday Mornings), Luvh Rakhe (writer, New Girl), and Sunil Nayar (Executive Producer, Revenge) are some of the top acting and creative names in television today. Moderated by Parvesh Cheena (actor, Outsourced), this lively and honest discussion explores the panelists’ triumphs, heartbreaks, and rise in the industry, where they go from here as well as the choice many of them have made to be multi-hyphenates (i.e. actor-writer-producers) in the business.  They’ll reflect upon the growing representation of Indians in television, and the reasons why comedy has been a popular genre for discovering South Asian talent. Join them as they reveal how they draw from their own life experiences – and their ability to laugh at themselves both personally and culturally-- to create characters and tell stories that have led them to on-screen success.

 TODAY’S PIONEER VOICES CHANGING THE LANDSCAPE OF INDIAN CINEMA
Saturday, April 13 at 2:15 PM

Join us for a round table discussion with some of the most innovative voices leading the independent movement in Indian cinema today. From the screenplay to the screen, learn how these IFFLA filmmakers managed to not only realize their vision but to also gain recognition at top tier international film festivals, including Cannes, Berlin and Toronto. An intimate and honest look at the feats and challenges that filmmakers face today.

Participants are: Vasan Bala (PEDDLERS), Anand Gandhi (SHIP OF THESEUS), Hansal Mehta (SHAHID), and Nitin Kakkar (FILMISTAAN).  The panel will be moderated by The Hollywood Reporter and India-West film critic Lisa Tsering.

 About the Films:

 SHIP OF THESEUS

U.S. Premiere
India/2012/140min/DCP
Director: Anand Gandhi
Producers: Mukesh Shah, Sohum Shah
Screenwriter: Anand Gandhi
Cast: Neeraj Kabi, Sohum Shah, Aida El Kashef, Faraz Khan, Vinay Shukla, Amba Sanyal

 The stories of three disparate people collide, as they struggle through trials unbeknownst to each other. Relying on her remarkable intuition and the help of her boyfriend, a blind woman enjoys a successful career as a photographer. When she starts to regain her eyesight, she is confronted by her own artistic limitations and an ever-changing sense of identity. A man of unshakable principles has committed his life to fighting pharmaceutical companies against animal abuse. When he is diagnosed with a severe illness, he must choose between standing by his long held moral beliefs and his own survival. An aimless stockbroker who has recently received a kidney transplant discovers a sense of purpose when he meets a man whose kidney was unlawfully stolen. As the three characters grapple to redefine themselves in the face of their new realities, the film raises the question of what constitutes identity when integral parts of us change. The three narratives gracefully converge into a soulful finale that reveals our wondrous interconnectedness in the ephemeron of life.

Elegantly layered in its themes, evocatively photographed, and featuring beautifully understated performances, SHIP OF THESEUS reveals an original and razor sharp directorial voice in this feature debut from playwright Anand Gandhi.

 SHIP OF THESEUS will screen Friday, April 12, 9:30 PM

 English, Hindi (English subtitles)

 PAD YATRA: A GREEN ODYSSEY
Los Angeles Premiere
USA/India/68min/2012
Director: Wendy J.N. Lee
Producers: Wendy J.N. Lee, Michelle Yeoh
Narrator: Darryl Hannah

 PAD YATRA: A GREEN ODYSSEY takes us on an incredible journey with 700 souls who set out to trek across the Himalayas with a single passion, to spread their message of ecological compassion and global warming.  Shot with solar power by Ladakhi monk Ngawang Sodpa, the documentary features notable supporters including actor Aamir Khan. Michelle Yeoh serves as Executive Producer, and the film is beautifully narrated by Daryl Hannah.

 PAD YATRA will screen Wednesday, April 10 at 7:15PM

 English, Tibetan (English Subtitles)

 IFFLA FAMILY DAY FILM

ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE
India/2012/96min/DCP
Director: Arnab Chaudhari
Producers: Ronnie Screwvala, Siddharth Roy Kapur
Screenwriters: Rajesh Devraj
Cast: Yuddvir Bakolia, Ila Arun, Anjan Srivastav, Sachin Khedekar, Vishnu Sharma

ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE is the retelling of a beloved tale from the epic Mahabharata: the remarkable coming-of-age story of Arjun, the exceptional archer, who grows from timid prince to fearless warrior. This brilliant collaboration between UTV Motion Pictures and Walt Disney vividly captures the lavish grandeur and bloodthirsty intrigues of the time in stunning animation. Exhilarating battle scenes, catchy musical sequences, and a delightfully unexpected final act make ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE an engrossing cinematic experience for children and grownups alike.

 ARJUN: THE WARRIOR PRINCE will screen Saturday, April 13, 12:00 PM as part of a series of activities appropriate for children of all ages at IFFLA’s Family Day.  Tickets are free for the screening and all related events.  More information about Family Day is available at http://www.indianfilmfestival.org//events.php

 Hindi (English subtitles)

 IRON TRACKS (LOHPATH)
World Premiere / Screens with SALMA
India/2012/24min
Director: Rupesh Aggarwal
Producers: Deep Singh Kakkad, Anurag Kashyap Films Pvt Ltd

IRON TRACKS is an ode to the innocence corrupted and humanity lost in the vicious victimization of children.

 IRON TRACKS will screen with the feature documentary SALMA on Saturday, April 13, 6:00 PM.