“Photograph” – the closing film at LIFF, awards, accolades, Q&A and more
The 10th Edition of the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF)'s London chapter came to an end on 29 June, with the European Premier of Director Ritesh Batra's feature "Photograph" at the BFI Southbank. LIFF continues to run in Birmingham and Halifax till 8 July. The Closing Night has traditionally been popular for announcing the winner of the Satyajit Ray Short...
Through the lens from a second home: the journey of an NRI American
A quote from Heraclitus aptly summarizes in paradoxical terms the truth about the story of human civilization : “The only thing that is constant is change.” At times, the pace is too fast to keep up with. As a first generation resident in the United States, I often reflect on the changes related to the Indian diaspora. What I...
LIFF World Premier “Article 15” released
Another year and another strong opening film from the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF). The aim for LIFF is always to show the kinds of films that tend to be lost in the endless stream of Bollywood releases. These are films to make you think, raise awareness of causes, and open your eyes to places, people, and events that...
Swarnavel Eswaran’s first feature film Kattumaram (Catamaran) gets a standing ovation at BFI during LIFF 2019
Kattumaram (Catamaran), the coming-of-age tale of Tsunami-survivors in a small village where a conservative maternal uncle supports his orphaned niece and nephew while they struggle with their simple but complicated lives, has been very well received by London film-lovers. As a part of the London Indian Film Festival, LIFF 2019, Kattumaram had its European Premiere at the iconic BFI...
London Indian Film Festival 2019 opens with equality-championing movie
A dry and sunny evening, the 20th June 2019 saw the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) proudly celebrating its tenth anniversary with the World Premier of "Article 15" at the Picturehouse Central, just around the corner from Piccadilly Circus in central London. As is traditional, there was a red carpet event (we've got some pictures below) which gave the stars...
Last Letter – an extraordinary short on homosexuality among senior citizens, LIFF 2019
The Last Letter, a 15 minutes short film by Vishal Jejurkar is an unusual story of a 70-year-old gay man Mohan, who lives in Mumbai, and is in the closet. Vishal wrote this story when he was in the final year of his medical studies. "I was doing some random research on various topics at that time with nothing specific...
An exclusive tete-a-tete with Rima Das about ‘Bulbul can Sing’
Assamese director Rima Das returned to the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) this year with a powerful story of three teenagers and their journey of self-exploration, in her movie Bulbul Can Sing. Set in the rural northeast state of Assam, the village Rima grew up in, this picturesque and honest film has already swept up prestigious awards at Berlin,...
U Ushacha: back stories from the directors desk for LIFF
The London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) this year has a 21-minute short film in Marathi, the only one to be covered in two sections of the festival, including the famed Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition. What's interesting is that the Director, Rohan Kandwale has had no formal education in filmmaking. The film, U Ushacha, will be also be shown in the...
Tamil and Kannada films to rock LIFF’s 10th Edition with a bunch of emerging queer cinemas
The London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) Europe's largest Asian Film Festival is celebrating its 10th Edition this year. The screenings have been made special by India’s ‘decriminalisation’ of its LGBTQ+ and transgender population earlier this year and the festival celebrates by selecting a dynamic range of recent LGBTQ+ films including two Tamil and a Kannada film, surprising the film...
From the Ghats to the coasts: a unique collection of Marathi films and filmmakers to shine in LIFF 2019
The 10th Edition of the London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) has some very special programming lined up with regional films. This year, the Marathi bouquet is strong with films by Marathi filmmakers and subjects based out of Maharashtra taking the centre stage. All screenings will be followed by Q&A opportunities with special guests, allowing better understanding of the film,...
