Preview: London Indian Film Festival 2015

Umrika (2015)

The London Indian Film Festival rolls back into the capital from 16 to 26 July, getting under way with an opening night UK premiere of Sundance award-winner Umrika. Directed by Prashant Nair, who will attend for a Q&A, it’s a rites-of-passage story in which two brothers leave their tiny Indian hamlet with dreams of a new life in America. All goes well for them in their new country if their letters home to their family are to be believed – but are they?

With screenings at BFI Southbank, the ICA, and Cineworld venues across the city, the festival features many more such premieres. These include The Master, a new documentary about Indian indie filmmaker Shyam Benegal; Nagesh Kukunoor’s magical Dhanak (The Rainbow), a Berlin Film Festival prizewinner; Tigers, a provocative new drama from Oscar-winning director Danis Tanović about corruption in the pharmaceuticals industry; and Sturla Gunnarson’s Monsoon, an awe-inspiring documentary about the rainy season.

Bollywood giant Mani Ratnam (director of Dil Se and Nayakan) will be explaining his golden commercial touch in a rare interview on stage at BFI Southbank, while on 21 July the ICA will screen a full programme of the shorts competing for this year’s Satyajit Ray Short Film Award. The winner will be announced at a closing night gala event, where attendees will also enjoy the London premiere of Death of a Gentleman, the eagerly awaited new documentary about modern cricket.

For full details of the programme, see the London Indian Film Festival website.