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Michael Okeke, a Nigerian living in New Delhi wants to get his MBA and settle in India. But his part-time job as a drug dealer will jeopardize his plans, not to mention the open racism he is facing. December 8, 2024 at 10:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Dilli Dark India | Narrative Feature 2023 | 101 mins | English, Hindi, Yoruba, Pidgin, Bengali, Gujarati In-Person Q&A with Director Dibakar Das Roy TICKETS TICKETS Official Selection of the Mumbai Film Festival, Tallinn Black Nights, and the New York African Film Festival Michael Okeke is one of the many Nigerians living in the city, part of a larger African diaspora which is often looked down upon by the locals.. Michael is studying for his MBA and dreams of joining the booming corporate sector in India, but is hopelessly stuck. He works as a small-time drug delivery guy to make ends meet. His search for gainful employment lands him in the fringes of society, where the only person who takes him in is a sketchy godwoman by the name of Maansi. While Maansi may not discriminate between black and white, she also seems to find no difference between right and wrong - a sentiment echoed in every aspect of the city's DNA. As Michael navigates this treacherous landscape, we are taken on a journey into Indian society’s tricky relationship with race, colour, and identity. Restoration Process About the Artist Dibakar Das Roy left a career in advertising in the USA to come back home to learn filmmaking on the job; writing, producing and directing under his banner www.braincell.in DILLI DARK is his first feature film. He spends his time between Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Dibakar Das Roy Writer: Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

12 year old Bhyal, a lower caste black-smith boy, and his friend, Laba, are bullied into making iron wheels for their upper-caste peers. Exhausted by the situation, they're compelled to break social conventions and take matters into their own hands. A cinematic examination of the caste system in a small mountain village in Nepal. April 15, 2023 at 3:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Wheels on the Bus Nepal | Short 2022 | 16 mins | Nepali, English TICKETS TICKETS Best Director - Short Film at Hanoi International FF Restoration Process About the Artist Surya Shahi received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (Acting) and a BA in International Studies from Elon University, USA in 2018. Since graduating, he has been in Nepal building a school and hostel in his home region of Humla, where WHEELS ON THE BUS was shot. He works part time as an acting teacher at Oscar International College of Film Studies in Kathmandu, Nepal. Surya worked on the Nepali short film A CURIOUS GIRL (2017) as a casting director, acting coach and assistant director. He was the creative producer and an actor in the musical short RATO TALO (2019) and also worked as an acting coach on the short FILAM (2020). He is currently working on his second short film as director, THE CURTAIN. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Surya Shahi Writer: Surya Shahi Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Man Bahadur Tamata, Damaru Bhatta, Suman Bohara Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A turbulent newsroom drama that intimately chronicles the working days of broadcast journalist Ravish Kumar as he navigates a spiraling world of truth and disinformation. April 16, 2023 at 2:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere While We Watched United Kingdom | Documentary 2022 | 94 min | English, Hindi Virtual Q&A with director Vinay Shukla TICKETS TICKETS Winner of the prestigious TIFF Amplify Voices Award, The Busan Cinephile Award '22, & the Sabeen Mahmud Award for Courage in Filmmaking '23 (MISAFF). A Special Presentation of DOC NYC Nominated for 'Political Film of the Year (Cinema For Peace '23), 'Right to Know Competition' (One World International Human Rights Documentary Festival), & 'Activist Documentary Award' (The Hague Movies That Matter '23) 'Best International Documentary' Winner - DocPoint Helsinki, 2023 The primetime Indian TV Journalist, Ravish Kumar, is in trouble. Famous for unflinching takedowns of the ruling establishment, his nerves have begun to fray as the Indian media landscape turns toward a new standard of high-decibel, polarizing, blustering TV debates. Ravi's primetime bulletins have long been valued for solid research, verified evidence, and a sharp commentary with a touch of rustic sass. Yet, as press freedom further deteriorates, Ravish finds himself at the receiving end of harassment, intimidation, threats to his life, and even violence against his family. With a growing target on his back, and the looming issue of his network’s imminent closure, Ravish transforms from a spunky troublemaker into a deeply troubled man, worried for himself, his family, and the soul of his nation. Restoration Process About the Artist Vinay Shukla is a filmmaker, producer, and leading figure in the Indian documentary landscape. His debut feature, the non- fiction political thriller, AN INSIGNIFICANT MAN (co-directed with Khushboo Ranka) was internationally acclaimed, set a new anti-censorship precedent, and went on to become the most theatrically successful documentary film in India. His short BUREAUCRACY SONATA (2011), won the HBO 'Best Short Film' Award at the 2012 South Asian International Film Festival. His work has attracted distinguished partnerships with Sundance, DocSociety, NFDC India, Asian Network of Documentaries, IDFA, and IDFA Bertha. His films have been celebrated at Warsaw Film Festival, Busan International Film Festival, BFI London, Sheffield Doc/Fest, among other leading world festivals. Vinay also produced the globally renowned political strategy board games 'SHASN’, and its sequel, ‘SHASN: AZADI’. Vinay’s highly-anticipated second feature film, ‘While We Watched’ - a non-fiction newsroom drama - is premiering at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Vinay Shukla Writer: Vinay Shukla Producer(s): Vinay Shukla Khushboo Ranka Luke W. Moody Film Editor: Abhinav Tyagi Featured Cast: Ravish Kumar Sushil Mohapatra Swarolipi Sengupta Sushil Bahuguna Saurabh Shukla Deepak Chaubey Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

An illegal immigrant father in the UK looks for his missing daughter while trying to avoid the police radar. April 19, 2024 at 11:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Texas Premiere Footprints on Water United Kingdom | Narrative Feature 2023 | 108 mins | English, Malyalam In-Person Q&A with Director Nathalia Syam & Lead Actor Adil Hussain TICKETS TICKETS World Premiere - New York Indian Film Festival, Winner - Best Debut Award UK Premiere - UK Asian Film Festival Away from the glitz and glam of Birmingham resides an illegal immigrant community who are always in hiding, leaving no proof of their existence, not even their footprints. Raghu, an illegal immigrant in Birmingham - UK, believes that he has finally struck gold as his daughter, Meera, is all set to marry a wealthy groom, a legal resident in the UK. Raghu was a small-scale business owner in India who fled to the UK with his wife and daughter after being mired in a financial scam. The life that awaited them in the UK was far from perfect – they were dumped into shared accommodation, they did not have legit visas, and they were all expected to work for a meagre wage. Raghu regrets this move, but he is left with no choice but to stay on in the UK, make enough money to pay off his debts, and return home with dignity. Six years on, Raghu now works for a fraudulent solicitor who mints money making fake passports and visa appeals. Raghu is his trusted employee, and his boss has paid back his loyalty by finding the perfect groom for Meera. Following a heated argument with Raghu, Meera storms out of the home and never returns. Raghu worries, knowing Meera's habit of making hasty extreme decisions in the spur of the moment. Raghu sets on a mission to find her all by himself without coming under the police radar. Raghu's search for Meera unveils a different side of her life that he never knew existed. Raghu realizes that in his race behind the materialistic riches, he has lost everything and everyone that mattered to him the most. Now, the only priority in his life is to see his daughter safe. But is he too late? Restoration Process About the Artist Nathalia is a London based debutant feature film director of Footprints On Water. Between the British and Indian film industries, she has experience working as an associate director/ 1st AD and has broadcast credits for her previous short-films and commercials. Nathalia is also a Film Practitioner at a Film School in London. Her previous short film, Lehenga, was nominated for the 'Best of British' award at the BAFTA qualifying 'Iris Prize' Award in Cardiff. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Nathalia Syam Writer: Neetha Syam Producer(s): Mohaan Naadar Film Editor: Suresh Pai Featured Cast: Adil Hussain, Nimisha Sajayan, Antonio Aakeel, Lena Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A London schoolgirl and tireless martial-artist-in-training, Ria Khan is determined to become a world-renowned stunt woman. But when her big sister Lena drops out of school to marry a wealthy heir, Ria soon realizes something is wrong and enlists her friends to rescue her sister from her own wedding. April 16, 2023 at 10:00:00 PM AFS Cinemas Polite Society United Kingdom | Narrative Feature 2022 | 103 min | Hindi TICKETS TICKETS Official Selection: Sundance Film Festival 2023, SXSW '23 Polite Society is a London-set anarchic action comedy that follows Ria Khan, a schoolgirl and martial artist-in-training who dreams of becoming a world-renowned stunt woman. When Ria witnesses her big sister Lena give up on her dreams by dropping out of art school and getting engaged, Ria’s world is shaken. She believes she must save her sister from the shackles of marriage in the only way she knows how, by enlisting the help of her friends and attempting the most ambitious of all wedding heists in the name of freedom and sisterhood. Polite Society is a merry mash-up of sisterly affection, parental disappointment, and bold and bloody action. Restoration Process About the Artist Nida Manzoor is a British filmmaker who wrote, directed, and created all the original music for her series WE ARE LADY PARTS, which premiered on Peacock/Channel 4 in 2021. The series is an irreverent musical comedy following an all-female Muslim punk band, told through the eyes of a geeky Ph.D. student who is reluctantly recruited to be their lead guitarist. WE ARE LADY PARTS has been nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award, and an Indie Spirit Award, and won a 2022 Peabody Award and the 2022 BAFTA Award for 'Best Comedy Writer'. Manzoor’s debut feature with Focus Features and Working Title, POLITE SOCIETY, premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Nida Manzoor Writer: Nida Manzoor Producer(s): Tim Bevan Eric Fellner Olivier Kaempfer John Pocock Rachel Alabaster Film Editor: Robbie Morrison Featured Cast: Priya Kansara Ritu Arya Renu Brindle Rekha John-Cheriyan Seraphina Beh Ella Bruccoleri Sally Ann Shona Babayemi Nimra Bucha Akshay Khanna Shobu Kapoor Jeff Mirza Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Michael is a young police officer assigned to infiltrate a Tamil separatist organization in order to bring down one of its top financiers, but as he delves into this community, he gradually begins to identify with those he is supposed to destroy. April 13, 2025 at 5:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase United States Premiere Little Jaffna France | Narrative Feature 2024 | 100 mins | French, Tamil Recorded Q&A with writer-director Lawrence Valin TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. Jury Award for Best Narrative Feature - IMFF 2025, Austin, USA The district of 'Little Jaffna' in Paris is the heart of a vibrant Tamil community, where Michael, a young police officer, is assigned to infiltrate a criminal group known for extortion and money laundering for the benefit of separatist rebels in Sri-Lanka. But as he works his way deeper into the heart of the organization, his loyalty will be tested, in a relentless pursuit against one of Paris' most hidden and powerful gangs. Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film. Restoration Process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The screening will be preceded by a performance by Specific Thing. Specific Thing is the project of local musician Román. Sometimes he plays by himself and sometimes he plays with his snazzy band — he loves to do both! And the music? It draws from folk, punk, pop, latin, communism, animals, friends... He likes to keep it cartoony, quick, and catchy. The band released an album in 2025 called "Now Is Actually Not A Good Time". Find more at @specificthing on Instagram. Meet Specific Thing About the Artist Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Lawrence Valin grew up in Paris. In 2017, he graduated from La Fémis with the La Résidence program. In 2020, his medium-length film "The Loyal Man" was selected for the Clermont-Ferrand Festival, where he received the Best Actor Award and was nominated for the César Award for Best Short Film 2021. His first feature film, "Little Jaffna," won the Gan Foundation Award and received the Grand Prix des Prix du Scénario 2023. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Lawrence Valin Writer: Lawrence Valin Marlène Poste Malysone Bovorasmy Gaëlle Macé Arthur Beaupère Yacine Badday Producers: Simon Bleuzé Marc Bordure Jérôme Hilal Lawrence Valin Film Editor: Anaïs Manuelli In Collaboration With Guerric Catala Featured Cast: Lawrence Valin Puviraj Raveendran Vela Ramamoorthy Radikaa Sarathkumar Marilou Aussilloux Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation Restoration Credit: Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul) Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

Chaoren, an eleven year-old boy from a rural fishing village, fights to attend and excel in school, amidst the threats of poverty and displacement. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 International Premiere Eikhoigi Yum (Our Home) India | Narrative Feature 2022 | 86 mins | Manipuri TICKETS TICKETS IMFF2023 - Audience Choice Award for the Best Narrative Feature at IMFF, Austin, USA 69th National Film Awards, Best Manipuri Film, India Best Director at Kazan International Muslim Festival, Russia FIPRESCI Award for the Best International Film at 27IFFK, Kerala/India Belonging to an isolated fishing community of the Loktak lake, Chaoren makes the best use of his exclusive existence by excelling in school. When the canoe he uses every day to attend school has to be sold off because of his father’s illness, his spirit is not dampened. He beats the long distance from his shanty floating hut to his school by swimming his way through. But when the Government issues an eviction notice demanding Chaoren’s family to leave their home, his dreams are left with an angst of a displaced person. Restoration Process About the Artist Romi Meitei is prolific filmmaker who has produced several box-office hits. Besides notching up commercial successes, his films have been screened in world-renowned film festivals including IFFI, MIFF, IFFK, and others. He is recipient of the prestigious FIPRESCI and NETPAC awards, and well as the 'Best Director' Prize at the Sailadhar Film Awards in Assam. His projects have also received several Manipur State Film Awards, including 'Best Feature Film', 'Art Director', 'Child Artiste', and 'Best Editor' for EIKHOIGI YUM at the MSFA 22 award ceremony. He is the Chairman of Mami Thawan Foundation, which aims to render services for the welfare of Manipur. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Romi Meitei Writer: Romi Meitei Producer(s): Chingsubam Sheetal, Romi Meitei Film Editor: Johni Meitei Featured Cast: Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A newlywed girl is left to live with her mother when her husband leaves to find work in India. She waits patiently for her husband to call, but in vain. As days pass, longing turns to loneliness, then resignation and resolve. The girl and her mother ultimately find solace in each other in this affecting film about solitude, abandonment, and self-actualization. Filmocracy Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Junko Nepal | Short 2021 | 15 mins | Nepali, English TICKETS TICKETS 'Best Cinematography' - Linz Int'l Short Film Festival Restoration Process About the Artist Minsho Limbu is an Independent filmmaker based in Kathmandu, Nepal. He holds graduation in screenplay writing and direction from Everest Film Academy. JUNKO is his directorial debut short film. It has been screened at film festivals including; Fribourg, Torino, POFF Shorts Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival, Washington DC Film Fest, Anchorage Int'l Film Festival, London Short Film Festival, Ajyal Film festival, Tel-Aviv Int'l Student Film Festival, VGIK Int'l Student Film Festival and Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival. It won best film, best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best Cinematography Award at VGIK, Early Bird, Inter-University and Linz International Short Film Festival,2022; Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Minsho Limbu Writer: Minsho Limbu Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Garima Singh, Sarita Giri Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

A hot-tempered alcoholic father drags his reticent son to a distant village to fetch back his wife whom he had chased away. But when the encounter turns ugly, the journey home through unforgiving Tamil Nadu barrens is fraught with the sweat and smudge of the deserted terrain where the land and human emotions lay brazenly palpable in the scorching heat. Eventive Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 Pebbles India | Narrative Feature 2021 | 75 mins | Tamil TICKETS TICKETS Winner of the 'Tiger Award' at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam 2021, Netherlands, held in February 2021 Winner of the PREMIO SNCCI “Best Feature Film” adjudged by the National Syndicate of Italian Film Critics at ShorTS International Film Festival 2021, Italy held in July 2021 Winner of the 'Audience Award' at Burgas International Film Festival 2021, Bulgaria held in July 2021 A hot-tempered alcoholic father drags his reticent son to a distant village to fetch back his wife whom he had chased away. But when the encounter turns ugly, the journey home through unforgiving Tamil Nadu barrens is fraught with the sweat and smudge of the deserted terrain where the land and human emotions lay brazenly palpable in the scorching heat. Restoration Process About the Artist Vinothraj P S is a filmmaker hailing from Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India. He dropped out of school when he was in class IV owing to poverty. To overcome the financial difficulties at home, he opted to become a child laborer at the age of 8 and worked in a textile factory until he turned 19. To eke out a living, he then sold DVDs at a roadside shop in Chennai. During this time, he was introduced to a few people from the Tamil film industry and joined several projects as an assistant director to Mr. Sargunam, a Tamil filmmaker. He began to assistant direct for ‘Manal Magudi’, a post-modernist theatre troupe ,and utilized his time during this venture to shoot a few short films. His debut feature ‘Koozhangal’ (Pebbles) premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam, where it went on to win the coveted Tiger Award and gain worldwide acclaim. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Vinothraj P S Writer: Vinothraj P S Producer(s): Vignesh Shivan & Nayanthara Film Editor: Ganesh Siva Featured Cast: Karuththadaiyaan Chellapandi Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Inspired by Iranian cinema and the poetry of Forough Farrokhzad, a young director from India journeys to Tehran to witness how resistance becomes a daily act of survival in Iranian society. April 12, 2025 at 8:15:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual May 2 - 4, 2025 United States Premiere And, Towards Happy Alleys India, Iran | Documentary 2023 | 75 mins | Persian, English Live Q&A with director Sreemoyee Singh and lead actress Aida Mohammadkhani Preceded by the short film The First Film . TICKETS TICKETS Best Film in the International Competition at BAFICI, Argentina, April 2023 Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari award for Best Debut Director at Mumbai International Film Festival, June, 2024 Best Documentary in World Cinema Festival, Calcutta, 2024 Fascinated by Iran’s film culture and the poetic works of the feminist poet Forough Farrokhzad, Indian filmmaker Sreemoyee Singh sets out in search of the protagonists of Iranian cinema. The numerous interviews she conducts over a period of six years with filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Shirvani, and human rights activist Nasrin Sotudeh, among others, show the precarious situation in which critics of the regime find themselves, including the constant threat of imprisonment and being banned from practicing their profession. With a keen eye for unusual situations, she documents the effect of the Islamic Republic’s strict and omnipresent censorship on the daily lives of Iranian women whose uncompromising struggle has put them at the forefront of the protests that are currently rocking the country. And, Towards Happy Alleys is a passionate declaration of love for the cinema and poetry of Iran which also provides a frank view of daily life, and bears witness to a fearless generation raising its voice and implacably demanding its civil liberties. Restoration Process About the Artist Sreemoyee is a filmmaker and producer from Kolkata, India. She has a PhD degree on “The Exiled Filmmaker in Post-Revolution Iran” from the department of Film Studies at Jadavpur University. She learned Persian and traveled to Iran to film her debut documentary And, Towards Happy Alleys which launched at the Berlinale International Film Festival (Panorama section) in February 2023 and has screened at prestigious film festivals such CPH:DOX (Denmark) Thessaloniki (Greece) Sheffield (UK) DMZ Docs (South Korea) Antenna Film Festival (Australia) Jio MAMI (India), Docpoint Helsinki (Finland) winning the ‘best film’ in the International Competition at BAFICI, Argentina. Sreemoyee also won the Best Debut Director award at the Mumbai International Film Festival for her film along with the FIPRESCI (International) Critics Jury award. Sreemoyee has also worked as an Assistant Professor of Film Studies at St. Joseph’s University, Bangalore, and a Guest Lecturer at New York University, Abu Dhabi (NYUAD). She is the recipient of the Golden Globe Foundation Residency for International Filmmakers in Los Angeles in February-March 2024. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Sreemoyee Singh Aida Mohammadkhani Writer: Sreemoyee Singh Producer(s): Sreemoyee Singh Happy Alley Films Film Editor: Joydip Das Pradyatan Bera Featured Cast: Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.

"Manthan" is a compelling film about an idealistic veterinarian who sparks a milk cooperative movement in a village, challenging deep-rooted caste hierarchies and exploitation, facing fierce resistance, false accusations, and political strife, but ultimately igniting change and hope for a better future. April 9, 2025 at 11:30:00 PM AFS Cinema Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Indie Meme Special 10th Year Retrospective Showcase Manthan (The Churning) India | Narrative Feature 1976 | 134 mins | Hindi Virtual Q&A with actor Naseeruddin Shah TICKETS WATCH ONLINE Limited tickets available on site. Cannes Classics 2024 "Manthan”, a fictionalized version of the beginnings of the remarkable dairy cooperative movement that transformed India from a milk-deficient nation to the world’s largest milk producer inspired by Verghese Kurien, the Father of the White Revolution, is also India’s first crowdfunded film produced by 500,000 dairy farmers who contributed Rs. 2/- each towards the production of the film. Film Heritage Foundation used the best surviving elements for the restoration – the original camera negative and the 35 mm print preserved at the NFDC – NFAI. Unfortunately, the sound negative was not available. We digitized the sound from the 35 mm print preserved at Film Heritage Foundation. The film elements were repaired by the Film Heritage Foundation conservators and the scanning was done in Prasad Lab in Chennai We found that due to the deterioration of the print, there were vertical green lines on many parts of the film. While the scanning and digital clean-up was done at Prasad under the supervision of L’Immagine Ritrovata in Bologna, the grading, sound restoration and mastering was done at the lab in Bologna. Both Shyam Benegal and Govind Nihalani, the cinematographer of the film, have been involved in the restoration of the film. Restoration Process Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation The screening will be preceded by a performance by Specific Thing. Specific Thing is the project of local musician Román. Sometimes he plays by himself and sometimes he plays with his snazzy band — he loves to do both! And the music? It draws from folk, punk, pop, latin, communism, animals, friends... He likes to keep it cartoony, quick, and catchy. The band released an album in 2025 called "Now Is Actually Not A Good Time". Find more at @specificthing on Instagram. Meet Specific Thing About the Artist Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Shyam Benegal, a pioneer of Indian parallel cinema, is renowned for his socially conscious films tackling caste, gender, and socio-political issues. Born on December 14, 1934, he debuted with Ankur (1974), followed by acclaimed films like Nishant, Manthan, and Bhumika. Manthan was uniquely crowd-funded by 500,000 farmers, highlighting India's White Revolution. Benegal has collaborated with legendary actors like Smita Patil and Naseeruddin Shah and directed the iconic TV series Bharat Ek Khoj (1988). Honored with the Padma Shri, Padma Bhushan, and multiple National Film Awards, his work continues to inspire and challenge societal norms. Photo courtesy: Film Heritage Foundation Trailer Credits Crew: Director: Shyam Benegal Writer: V. Kurien Shyam Benegal Vijay Tendulkar Producers: Shyam Benegal/Sahyadri Films for Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd. Film Editor: Bhanudas Diwkar Featured Cast: Girish Karnad Smita Patil Naseeruddin Shah Anant Nag Amrish Puri Kulbushan Kharbanda Mohan Agashe Sadhu Meher Rajendra Jaspal Abha Dhulia Anjali Paigankar and the people of Sanganva Restoration Effort Led By: Shivendra Singh Dungarpur, Director, Film Heritage Foundation Restoration Credit: Restored by Film Heritage Foundation in association with Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul), the cinematographer Govind Nihalani and the director Shyam Benegal. Funding supported by Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd.(Amul) Thank you to our community partners for this screening!

A mother sings lullabies to her 12 year-old daughter in order to calm her down. But, when the lullabies end, their reality turns out to be much grimmer and more life-altering. April 15, 2023 at 5:45:00 PM AFS Cinema Virtual April 28 - May 1, 2023 Lori Nepal | Short 2022 | 15 mins | Nepali, English Screens with "In Search of Bengali Harlem " TICKETS TICKETS Special Jury Mention - Cannes Film Festival Restoration Process About the Artist Abinash Bikram Shah is a National Award-winning writer/director based in Nepal. An alumnus of Locarno Filmmakers Academy, Berlinale Talents, and Asian Film Academy, he has written, directed, and produced short films that have participated and won at many International Film Festivals. His most recent short film LORI (Melancholy of my Mother’s Lullabies) became the first Nepali film to be officially selected at Cannes Film Festival (2022), where it competed for Palme d’Or Short and was awarded a 'Special Jury Mention'. He has also written several feature films that have premiered in Berlin International Film Festival (2012) and Venice - International Film Critics Week (2015) and went on to become Nepal's Official Entry for the Oscars in Best Foreign Language Film section. Trailer For English subtitles, make sure to turn on the YouTube closed captions. Credits Crew: Director: Abinash Bikram Shah Writer: Abinash Bikram Shah Producer(s): Film Editor: Featured Cast: Priti Jha, Sujita Sah, Ankita Yadav Thank you to our community partners for this screening! This program was made possible in part with a grant from Humanities Texas, the state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities.