NYIFF to screen 40 films, documentaries at virtual edition amid coronavirus pandemic

New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) is going virtual for its 20th edition amid coronavirus pandemic.  digital movie gala will stream over 40 feature films, shorts, and documentaries from Indian subcontinent, including Vibha Bakshi's National Award-winning project Son-Rise and Tanuja Chandra's documentary Aunty Sudha, Aunty Radha.

festival, which is scheduled to take place from July 24 to August 2, will screen feature and n-feature projects in various Indian langus including Assamese, Bengali, Haryanvi, Hindi, English, Ladakhi, Maithili, Malayalam, Marathi, Nepali and Tamil.

festival, usually held around April-May every year in Manhattan, was postponed this year due to COVID-19 outbreak. 

"We were disappointed to postpone this year's New York Indian Film Festival because of COVID-19 pandemic. But we are thrilled to bring virtual edition of festival with same films we had selected for NYIFF 2020", NYIFF festival director Aseem Chhabra said in a statement.

Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC), leading cultural organisation that presents festival, said virtual edition will enable audiences t just in New York but across rth America to view films, some of which will also have a global reach.

COVID-19 pandemic has forced closure of aters but we believe that in such trying times arts, including films are even more important for community's well-being. So, this year we have decided to bring films directly into your living rooms. IAAC Vice Chairman Rakesh Kaul said.

festival will open with Geetha J's Malayalam film Run Kalyani, a drama cantered around protagonist Kalyani, a young woman who works as a cook while also taking care of her ailing aunt.

closing film will be Geethu Mohandas' Moothon, a story about love and loss that travels from serene, untouched beaches of Lakshdweep to hustle-bustle of streets of Mumbai.

Produced by Anurag Kashyap, Moothon had premiered at last year's Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). 

Bakshi's "Son Rise", which won National Award for Best n feature film in 2019, will be among two centerpieces that festival will host this year. 

NYIFF said in a press release that Son Rise is a powerful documentary that explores how patriarchy is so deep rooted in parts of India, especially in state of Haryana.

UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was guest of hour at premiere of "Son Rise" in Mumbai last year. 

Mlambo-Ngcuka had said at premiere that beautiful thing about arts is that it reflects our thoughts, it changes our minds, it demonstrates our foolishness, it brings tears to our eyes, but it (also) leaves us with a profound opportunity to reflect.

second centerpiece is director Tanuja Chandra's documentary Aunty Sudha, Aunty Radha' which explores lives of her two paternal aunts - sisters and widows, who live toger in an ancestral house in a vill in Uttar Pradesh.

A conversation session is being planned with acclaimed actor Maj Bajpayee, whose films Bhonsle, Aligarh, Gangs of Wasseypur and Chittagong have previously been screened at festival.

NYIFF is oldest Indian film event in rth America. Over years, festival has held New York premieres of a wide range of films, many of m critically-acclaimed, including Monsoon Wedding, Namesake, Slumdog Millionaire, Shahid, Dum Laga Ke Haisha and Gangs of Wasseypur.