NYIFF 2025 Marks 25 Years with Bold Cinema and Celebrated Voices

The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF), the longest-running and most prestigious U.S. showcase of Indian independent cinema, returns for its landmark 25th edition from June 20–22, 2025. Presented by the Indo-American Arts Council, this year’s festival promises a dynamic celebration of cinematic storytelling from India and its global diaspora, with screenings at Manhattan’s Village East by Angelika.

As the New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) marks its milestone 25th anniversary this summer, the festival is honored to announce an extraordinary musical collaboration with Amaan Ali Bangash and Ayaan Ali Bangash, who have composed an original score for the festival’s promotional trailer. Sons of the legendary Sarod Grandmaster Ustad Amjad Ali Khan, Amaan and Ayaan bring to NYIFF a profound musical lineage and contemporary flair, creating a resonant soundscape that captures the emotional heart and cultural depth of Indian cinema.

With 22 feature films (18 narratives and 4 documentaries) in over a dozen Indian languages—from Tamil and Assamese to Hindi and Odia—plus 21 short films, NYIFF 2025 presents a diverse, genre-defying lineup reflecting the evolving landscape of Indian cinema.

Marquee Screenings & Special Tributes

• Opening Night features the East Coast premiere of The Fable by Raam Reddy—an atmospheric psychological drama starring Manoj Bajpayee and Priyanka Bose, fresh off major festival acclaim at Berlinale and Leeds.
• Centerpiece film Kennedy by Anurag Kashyap brings noir intensity to the program, with Rahul Bhat and Sunny Leone confronting corruption and inner turmoil.
• Closing Night premieres Little Thomas, a nostalgic Goan coming-of-age tale directed by Kaushal Oza, starring Rasika Dugal and Gulshan Devaiah—who will be in attendance.

Following the finale, NYIFF hosts an after-party at Chatti, Manhattan’s new hotspot for contemporary Kerala cuisine.

In a nod to cinematic legends, the festival will screen a restored 4K version of Shyam Benegal’s 1976 classic Manthan and premiere An Arrested Moment, a short doc exploring James Ivory’s relationship with Indian art, directed by Dev Benegal and produced by The Met Museum.

Highlights from the Narrative Slate

This year’s feature narratives offer a mix of urgent social commentary, emotional depth, and cultural exploration:

• Angammal (Tamil) delves into generational trauma and female agency in rural India.
• Parab (Odia) highlights Indigenous resistance in tribal India.
• I’m Not an Actor (Hindi/English), starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, blurs the lines between art and identity.
• LGBTQ-focused Riptide (Malayalam) and short IYKYK (Hindi) mark Pride Month.
• Village Rockstars 2 (Assamese) by Rima Das continues her celebrated story of musical childhood dreams.
• The Ancient (Bengali) sees the return of Sharmila Tagore in a poignant role after 14 years.

Other notable entries tackle AI ethics (Humans in the Loop), climate change (The Tiger), grief (Second Chance), and women’s empowerment (Madam Driver).

Documentary Standouts

Documentaries this year balance personal and political:

• A Fly on the Wall follows a couple seeking physician-assisted suicide in Switzerland.
• Marching in the Dark centers on widows of farmers lost to India’s agrarian crisis.
• Turtle Walker celebrates ecological preservation.

A Platform for the Past and Future

“NYIFF has evolved from a grassroots event to a global platform,” says Festival Director Aseem Chhabra, noting this year’s rich combination of debut talent and returning auteurs like Rima Das and Goutam Ghose. Executive Director Suman Gollamudi adds, “At 25, we are not just celebrating the past—we are investing in what’s next.”

Tickets and full programming details are available at nyiff.us.
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