South Asian International Film Festival: SAIFF 2013 : NEW YORK By Namisha Raj

The South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) is the largest film premiere destination for South Asian/Indian filmmakers in the United States. SAIFF was founded in New York City due to the lack of support for many emerging filmmakers and the overall under representation of Indian cinema in a capital that is recognized by the world as the birthplace of independent filmmaking! The Festival is committed to exhibiting films from South Asia (i.e India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Nepal) and within the Indian Diaspora. With a focus on dynamic, visionary cinema, SAIFF annually creates unprecedented exposure for filmmakers and unparalleled experiences for its attendees. The 10th Annual South Asian International Film Festival took place from December 3-8, 2013. The South Asian International Film Festival (SAIFF) is a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization dedicated to supporting South Asian/Indian filmmakers in the U.S seeking maximum visibility and absolute distribution.

This is the tenth anniversary of SAIFF. The festival started with showing “Monsoon Shootout” showcasing Nawazuddin Siddiqui. The best thing about the festival is the young directors showcasing great stories from across India. We saw great filmmakers like Mira Nair and Rajat Kapoor in the festival. The closing film for the festival was “The Good Road” by “Gyan Correa” the official Oscar entry from India. The film “ID” by Kamal Muhammed won the Jury prize and the film “Siddharth” by Richie Mehta won the Grand Prize. Shushashish Bhutani’s “Kush” and Rajat Kapoors “Aankhon Dekhi” and Shiva Bajpai’s “Outpost” also won the prizes. These categories of filmmakers need more recognition and appreciation in India cinema. Where commercial movies (Bollywood) takes over in India the Art cinema hardly gets the applaud and attention it deserves.

Namisha Raj
Representative :ES, New York

Mira Nair and Gyan Correa of ‘the good road’ .