IndiaPost.com - LA Indian film festival announces winners

India Post News Service

HOLLYWOOD: The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) announced its winners last Monday as it celebrated its fifth anniversary. The Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature was Valley of the Flowers directed by Pan Nalin. The film in Hindi and Japanese follows a gang of bandits who terrorize the Himalayan Silk Route and whose code of honor is challenged when a striking woman named Ushna emerges from a caravan raid to form an intense romance with the bandit's leader name Jalan.

The Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary went to Q2P, directed by Paromita Vohra. The film examines the disparity of women's toilets in Mumbai today. The Grand Jury Prize for Best Short went to Tea Break directed by Srinivas Sunderrajan. This eight minute film focuses on two friends who discuss news of a recent bomb blast in Mumbai over a cup of chai, and when they return to their apartments, bitter truths emerge about each man.

Special mention for Best Short went to Printed Rainbow which was directed by Gitanjali Rao. The Audience Choice Awards included Best Feature Film which went to director John Jeffcoat's Outsourced which follows an American novelty executive to India after his entire sales office is outsourced to India. T

he Best Documentary Film chosen by the attendees of the IFLA went to Divided We Fall: Americans In The Aftermath which was directed by Sharat Raju, written and produced by Valarie Kaur and presented by the California Sikh Council and the ACLU. The film especially examined Sikhs who were targeted for violence in the immediate aftermath of 9/11. The six day festival opened with Jag Mundhra's Provoked which starred Aishwarya Rai and Lost's Navneen Andrews. 36 films from eight countries were screened with the closing night gala showing Vanaja, by Rajnesh Domalpali which received Special Mention as a "Debut Feature."

This year, the Festival paid tribute to acclaimed actress, poet, painter and writer Deepti Naval who has received widespread recognition for a career that has spanned nearly 30 years. As part of the tribute, IFFLA showcased three films of her most renowned performances that included Kamla, directed by Jag Mundhra, Panchvati and I Am Alive (Main Zinda Hoon).

As part of the fifth year celebrations, the IFFLA added two new programs: "Bollywood By Night" which highlighted some of the most popular Bollywood Films of all times, including the 20th anniversary screening of Shekhar Kapur's Mr. India. Presented by LA Weekly, the new program was a remarkable hit with both American and South Asian patrons creating a lively energetic audience that packed the theatres every night.

The second addition was IFFLA EcoVision, a new program that aims to spread ecological awareness to coincide with Earth Day on Sunday, April 22. Family friendly activities now being offered by the festival also include a storyboard contest and a video contest for filmmakers under 18 years of age.

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) was established in 2002 as a not-for-profit organization devoted to promoting a greater appreciation of Indian culture by showcasing a selection of films from or about India by Indian and international filmmakers as well as films that reflect diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora. In addition, IFFLA continues to spotlight works by Indian filmmakers that cross boundaries to tell compelling stories of a global perspective.