NEW YORK: The prestigious South Asian Film Festival in North America, NYIFF, ended with a bang with its closing night film, Omerta, the New York premiere of the biopic on Islamic fundamentalist Omar Saeed Sheikh. The film was followed by a Q&A between festival director Aseem Chhabra, director Hansal Mehta and actors Rupinder Nagra and Timothy Ryan Hickernell.
The film festival showcased 78 shorts, docs and feature films in 11 languages over a six-day-period, May 7-12, at the Village East Cinemas on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. The programming boasted four world premieres, two international premieres, six North American premieres, one U.S. premiere and 11 New York premieres from four South Asian countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh & Sri Lanka), as well as North America and the United Kingdom.
The Best Film Award went to Nude. The Best Director: Nishil Sheth (Bhasmasur); Best Screenplay: Chumbak (writers Sandeep Modi & Saurabh Bhave); Best Actor: Manoj Bajpayee (In The Shadows); Best Actress: Kalyanee Mulay (Nude); Best Child Actor: Ali Haji (Noblemen);
Best Short: Maacher Jhol (The Fish Curry) directed by Abhishek Verma;
Best Documentary: Abu directed by Arshad Khan.
Like the Oscars and Golden Globes, the jurors sent their decisions directly to KPMG, who brought the envelopes for the winning films and filmmakers to the awards ceremony.
Thank You For Your Vote!
Sorry You have Already Voted!
