LOS ANGELES (Diya TV) — The 14th annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles went off without a hitch, and the week-long affair concluded with Visaaranai, directed by Vetri Maran, taking home the grand jury prize for best feature, while the cast of Parched, featuring Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte were honored with the best actress awards.
Parched was also honored with the festival’s audience choice award, and special jury mentions were made to Masaan and Aligarh. Actor Sanjay Mishra took home the award for best actor for his work in Masaan.
Festivities were kicked off with a bold and eloquent film by festival alum Pan Nalin. Angry Indian Goddesses, a story about seven women, their mindset against the backdrop of current India, starts a much needed dialogue about the extent of freedom women can enjoy in the South Asian nation.
The goddesses graced the red carpet in style, showcasing fashion from New Delhi, Mumbai and Los Angeles to talk about their film. Taking a pulse from India’s social, political framework, the festival showcased a collection of very strong films, with a diversity of topics from adoption, grief to LGTBQ struggles told by a deep bench of skilled story tellers.
In total, the festival showcased nearly 30 films, including features, documentaries and shorts.
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The closing night film featured the North American premiere of Anu Menon’s ‘Waiting‘, starring Naseeruddin Shah & Kalki Koechlin. A story about grief and tragedy, expertly told within the generational gap between the two.
Kari Lane, Deepti Dawar & David Barclay made contributions to this article.
