9th Indian Film Festival Captivates Movie Fans with Poignant Tales
From left: Stephanie Todd Wong, Director of Performing Arts and Culture, Asia Society, Leda Burkle, IFFH Board Member, Sutapa Ghosh, Founder and Festival Director, Amey Prakash, IFFH Board President and Rick Ferguson, Executive Director of Houston Film Commission.
HOUSTON: The 9th Indian Film Festival of Houston (IFFH 2017) captivated audiences at the Asia Society Texas Center on October 6-7 with cinema for the soul and the mind. The IFFH 2017 showcased six films—documentaries, shorts, and feature films—in addition to Q&A sessions with the directors, actors and producers in Asia Society’s Brown Foundation Performing Arts Theater. This year’s festival was especially fulfilling, coming after the events of Hurricane Harvey that brought out the best on Houston and stands testament to the city’s indefatigable spirit.
IFFH Board Members with the winners of IFFH Awards 2017, Suman Ghosh and Navroz Prasla.
IFFH 2017 captivated festivalgoers with emotional tales involving poignant tales of endurance, both mental and physical. The IFFH welcomed audiences with tastefully-decorated turquoise draperies at the venue entrance, matching table cloths and colorful floral rangolis. Both evenings featured cocktail receptions, sizzling Indian appetizers by Nirvana and entertainment by Moodafaruka.
Indian film and television actor, Iqbal Khan, served as the Master of Ceremonies for both the evenings. Among the attendees were several members of Houston’s consular corps, city and state representatives, as well as, Houston’s art and culture community.
From left: Director Suman Ghosh, Director John Upchurch and Festival Director Sutapa Ghosh.
Founder and Festival Director, Sutapa Ghosh, welcomed festival-goers to the opening day’s festivities and paid tribute to the spirit of the city, the volunteers, first responders, and agencies working tirelessly to get Houston open for business. A film professional in her own right, with a couple of award-winning movies with India’s famed director Rituparno Ghosh, Sutapa reminded the audience that she has enjoyed bringing IFFH to life for the past nine years and is planning a special tenth year celebration.
Houston Councilman Michael Kubosh presented proclamation on behalf of Mayor Sylvester Turner, recognizing IFFH and Sutapa Ghosh for their contributions to the Houston community. The Indian Deputy Consul General Surendra Adhana thanked the IFFH team for sharing the deep roots of Indian culture in today’s cinema and bringing it to Houston.
From left: Amey Prakash, President IFFH Board, Michael Kubosh, Houston City Council Men at large, Sutapa Ghosh, IFFH Festival Director and The Honorable Philip A. Aronoff, Honorary Consul General of Hungary.
The opening night’s feature film “Mango Dreams” with first-time director John Upchurch was a fan favorite and explored the unlikely bond formed between a Hindu doctor with dementia and a Muslim auto rickshaw driver as they travel across India in search of the doctor’s childhood home. The closing film “The Argumentative Indian” was a documentary about the life and work of India’s Renaissance Man and Nobel Laureate, Amartya Sen, who is widely regarded as one of the greatest living intellectuals of the world.
All three of the IFFH 2017 winners dealt with the subject of education and showcased immense personal struggles. Best Documentary Film: “The Argumentative Indian”, directed by Suman Ghosh; Best Short Film: “Azaad”, directed by Rahul Chittela and Best Feature Film: “Kshitij: A horizon”, directed by Manouj Kadaamah.
IFFH 2017 brought some soul-stirring films, presented them in a beautiful ambience and provided rich memories, and left the audiences anticipating a decade of the Indian Film Festival in Houston next year.