Birmingham Indian Film Festival goes nationwide

Premieres, classics and community involvement in latest showcase of Asian cinema.

The Birmingham Indian Film Festival, Manchester Indian Film Festival and Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival return from Saturday 18th September to cinemas and online for an autumn edition of premieres, shorts and classics, supported by the BFI using funds from the National Lottery and support from the BFI Film Audience Network through Film Hub London, Film Hub Midlands and Film Hub North.

In Birmingham there’s a focus on Great British Asians in a series of British Asian short films from emerging filmmakers and a look back at the contribution British Asians have made to the music and arts. The magnum opus, Mughal-E-Azam is being screened as a tribute to the late, great Dilip Kumar; the original 1960 version of the film will be screened complete with its twelve-song soundtrack, inspired by Indian classical and folk music, that will transport you to a bygone era. Too Desi Too Queer is a collection of short films offering a glimpse into the South Asian LGBTQI+ lived experience.

Online at loveliffathome.com, the festival presents rare talks with the great British screenwriter and novelist Hanif Kureishi and Academy Award, BAFTA and Grammy winning director Asif Kapadia, as well as a host of Q&As and a year-round selection of films including Bangladeshi independent film director Tareque Masoud’s last film, Runway and the multi-award winning Court, the directorial debut of Chaitanya Tamhane.

Festival Director Cary Rajinder Sawhney MBE says: “After our June festival’s successful return to cinemas and online, it’s great to be back in four cities across the UK to showcase some of the best of Indian and South Asian talent, both old and new. We are also expanding to Manchester, Bolton and Bradford cinemas and highlighting a quality range of films. These venues are some of the best in the UK and offer the safest possible environments for audiences to return to the cinema. Of course our 4K platform www.LoveLIFFatHome.com is also going strong. Offering audiences access to rare films UK-wide, and amazing online talks, accessible free to anyone around the world.”