Celebrate the diverse films and filmmakers of India and the diaspora at the 10th Anniversary of the Indian Film Festival of Houston.

Voted "Best Film Festival of Houston" by Houston Press, the Indian Film Festival of Houston, Inc. (IFFH) has partnered with Asia Society Texas Center to celebrate the festival's 10th anniversary on October 4 and 5, 2018.

IFFH will open with a cocktail reception and entertainment, followed by film screenings in the Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater at Asia Society Texas Center.

Schedule | Admission | Press Coverage | About the Indian Film Festival of Houston

Schedule

Thursday, October 4, 2018

4 p.m. | Cocktail Reception and Entertainment

5:15 p.m. | Once Again (Feature Film), followed by a Q&A Session
Director: Kanwal Sethi | Duration: 99 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Starring: Shefali Shah, Neeraj Kabi, Bhagwan Tiwari, Rasika Dugal
An aging actor gets involved with the widowed woman who caters his meals at home and how their social divide tells on their relationship. Once they meet, their relationship escalates, causing hardship for her and embarrassment for him. How they resolve their relationship is the question.

7:20 p.m. | Sound Proof (Short Film)
Director: Aditya Kelgoankar | Duration: 30 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Starring: Soha Ali Khan, Vinay Pathak
A young divorced woman rents an apartment in Mumbai hoping for a new beginning in life. She soon finds herself caught up in a maze of peculiar neighbors, strange occurrences, and a loud blaring TV from a mysterious apartment.

7:50 p.m. | Shalom Bollywood: The Untold Story of Indian Cinema (Documentary Film)
Director: Danny Ben-Moshe | Duration: 75 minutes | Language: English
SHALOM BOLLYWOOD reveals the unlikely story of the 2,000-year-old Indian Jewish community and its formative place in shaping the world's largest film industry. When Indian cinema began 100 years ago, it was taboo for Hindu and Islamic women to perform on screen, so Indian Jewish women took on female lead roles, which they dominated for decades. Infused with music and dancing, the film focuses on the lives of five of the great Jewish actors.

Friday, October 5, 2018

4 p.m. | Cocktail Reception and Entertainment

5:15 p.m. | Shame (Short Film), followed by a Q&A Session
Director: Anusha Bose | Duration: 24 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Starring: Swara Bhaskar, Anusha Bhaskar, Ranvir Shorey, Sayani Gupta, Tara Sharma, Cyrus Sahukar, Seema Bhargava Pahwa
SHAME is the twisted journey of a meek, vulnerable woman who emerges from the background to unapologetically reclaim her dignity, confidence, and her right to desire. A guest at a posh hotel fires a housekeeping staff whom he catches trying on his girlfriend's lingerie. This dark comedy explores the thin line between the two worlds: the halves from the have-nots.

6 p.m. | The Music Teacher (Feature Film)
Director: Sarthak Dasgupta | Duration: 109 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
Starring: Divya Dutta, Neena Gupta, Manav Kaul, Amrita Bagchi, Niharika Lyra Dutt
Beni is a small-town teacher struggling to make ends meet by teaching music and singing in clubs. Jyotsna, his estranged student, has become a celebrity singer in Bollywood. When the town comes alive with the news of Jyotsna coming back for a day to sing in a big music concert, Beni has to come to terms with the pains of his past as well as the delusions of his present.

8 p.m. | Purdah (Documentary Film)
Director: Jeremy Guy | Duration: 71 minutes | Language: Hindi (English subtitles)
The inspiring story of a young Indian woman who trades her burka for dreams of playing on the Mumbai Senior Women's Cricket Team and how the harsh realities for women in her country create an unexpected outcome for her own family, ultimately shattering and fueling aspirations.

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Admission

The below ticket levels are per day for both Thursday and Friday.

$15 | Individual Film Screenings
$35 | Day Pass (Admission to all film screenings)
$50 | Reception (Admission to reception and all film screenings)

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Press Coverage

Screen international films without ever leaving the city
Cultural film festivals bloom in Houston in the fall
Much More Than Bollywood — UH President Featured Guest in Film Festival that Shows Indian Cinema's True Power
Rhythm India Bollywood performing at Indian Film Festival of Houston

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.

IFFH offers events that appeal to cinema buffs and cultural enthusiasts in Houston and beyond. Apart from foreign and domestic visitors, Houston's cultural, educational and business diversity are also well-represented with a significant presence of the Houston consular corps, city officials, Women in Film, the Houston Film Commission, students and faculty from major Houston-area universities, and major corporations.

https://iffhinc.org/

Major support for the Performing Arts at Asia Society Texas Center comes from Nancy C. Allen, Mickey Rosenau and Ellen Gritz, the City of Houston through Houston Arts Alliance, and the Anchorage Foundation. Generous funding also provided by AARP, The Clayton Fund, Miller Outdoor Theatre, New England Foundation 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 Center.

Performing Arts Program Sponsors

Presenting Partners