15th Indian Film Festival of Houston

Thursday Schedule | Friday Schedule | About the Indian Film Festival of Houston

Join the Indian Film Festival of Houston and Asia Society Texas in celebrating the cinematic voices of India and the Diaspora with a fresh lineup of feature films, documentaries, and shorts! Films will screen on Thursday and Friday, with a food reception and music performance included in the Thursday program. A closing awards ceremony and dinner will take place on Saturday, February 25.

Additional details coming soon.

Schedule

Thursday, February 23, 2023

4 p.m. Opening Remarks and Welcome Address

4:15 p.m. Feature Film The Storyteller
Director: Ananth Mahadevan | Duration: 116 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Inspired by the character “Uncle Tarini,” who appears in short stories written by the great Indian filmmaker Satyajit Ray. Tarini, recently retired from a printing press, answers an advertisement calling for a storyteller at a place about 2,100 kilometers across the country. Expecting the job to be in a school, he turns up only to learn that the employer is a rich businessman who has insomnia and wants a storyteller for himself. Tarini is amused and accepts the job. Six months later, something unexpected happens that turns the story and its teller on its head.

6:45 p.m. Opening Night Reception and Entertainment

7:45 p.m. Short Film The Counterpart (World Premiere)
Director: Abhinandan Ghose | Duration: 15 minutes | Language: Bengali (English subtitles)
The friendship of two childhood friends is torn when both of them fall in love with the same girl. Betrayed by his childhood friend, Sandeep suffers a major psychological breakdown and leaves town. After two years, Sandeep returns to his old apartment and gradually reveals his true intentions.

8:00 p.m. Documentary Film Women Beyond Bollywood
Director: Rahila Bootwala | Duration: 52 minutes | Language: English and Hindi (English subtitles)
India’s cinema industry is the largest in the world, and Bollywood is its flagship — stars, music, drama, not to mention rampant sexism, are its defining features. Today, a new generation of filmmakers is finally showing women as more than eye candy or appendages to larger-than-life male heroes. The film is an interplay of memoirs, cinematic source films, observational material and interviews.

Friday, February 24, 2023

4 p.m. Opening Remarks and Welcome Address

4:15 p.m. Feature Film Tikdam (World Premiere)
Director: Vivek Anchalia | Duration: 118 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Tikdam is a story of migration set in a small hill town. Due to a lack of job opportunities, a father decides to leave for a bigger city to earn a living. The children are inconsolable and want to stop Prakash from leaving at any cost so they set off on an adventure of a lifetime, where they learn about migration, lack of tourism and global warming.    

6:45 p.m. Short Film Preet (World Premiere)
Director: Jayesh Jaidka | Duration: 22 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
A psychological drama about a newlywed who escapes the confines of her sexually abusive past and finds refuge in New York City through a childhood friend, only to realize that there's more than meets the eye. As director Jayesh Jaidka peels back the layers, Preet is an experience that showcases the deep psychological trauma of a survivor, going beyond the physical aspect to highlight the often unnoticed mental turmoil of a survivor in society.

7:30 p.m. Documentary Film All That Breathes
Director: Shaunak Sen | Duration: 97 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
In one of the world’s most populated cities, two brothers devote their lives to the quixotic effort of protecting the black kite, a majestic bird of prey essential to the ecosystem of New Delhi that has been falling from the sky at alarming rates. Amid environmental toxicity and social unrest, the ‘kite brothers’ spend day and night caring for the creatures in their makeshift avian basement hospital. The film explores the connection between the kites and the brothers who help them return to the skies, offering a mesmerizing chronicle of inter-species coexistence.

Saturday, February 25, 2023

6 – 9 p.m. Awards Ceremony and Dinner

About the Indian Film Festival of Houston

The Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH) Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization devoted to education in the fields of film and television and in creating a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing quality films that honor entertainment industry performers and film makers while promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian Diaspora through an annual event.

https://iffhinc.org/

Performing Arts and Culture programs at Asia Society Texas are presented by Syamal and Susmita Poddar. Major support comes from Nancy C. Allen, Chinhui Juhn and Eddie Allen, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, Houston Endowment, and The Brown Foundation Inc. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Anchorage Foundation of Texas, The Clayton Fund, The Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts, and the Wortham Foundation. Additional support provided by the Texas Commission on the Arts, National Endowment for the Arts, and through contributions from the Friends of Asia Society, a dedicated group of individuals and organizations committed to bringing exceptional programming and exhibitions to Asia Society Texas.

Performing Arts and Culture Presenting Sponsors

Syamal and Susmita Poddar

Performing Arts and Culture Program Sponsors

Presenting Partner

About Asia Society Texas

Asia Society Texas believes in the strength and beauty of diverse perspectives and people. As an educational institution, we advance cultural exchange by celebrating the vibrant diversity of Asia, inspiring empathy, and fostering a better understanding of our interconnected world. Spanning the fields of arts, business, culture, education, and policy, our programming is rooted in the educational and cultural development of our community — trusting in the power of art, dialogue, and ideas to combat bias and build a more inclusive society.