“ Little Jaffna ”, ‘Mahabharata’ directed the programming of the Indian Film Festival of London
The London Indian Film Festival will open its 16th edition with the first British of “Little Jaffna”.
Directed by Lawrence Valin, the film, in which he also co-written and plays, explores the experience of the Tamil diaspora in France through the prism of gang culture in the region of the center of Paris known in an informant way as Little Jaffna, named after the capital of the province of northern Sri Lanka. It takes place in the context of the Sri Lankan civil war, which ravaged the island nation from 1983 to 2009. The film experienced a considerable festival piece, notably in Venice and Toronto.
The central gala of the festival will be the restored version of the legendary interpretation of Peter Brook of the Indian Epic “Le Mahabharata”. BFI IMAX’s screening aligns with the 100th year of birth of Brook, with expectations that some of the original actors will attend France.
Director Rima Das returns to the festival with Busan launching “Rockstars 2 Village”, continuing her exploration of rural Indian life through the history of a teenager Assamed who clings to childhood dreams while facing contemporary challenges facing young people in rural India, threats of flooding with family responsibilities.
The program also includes the “Boong” of Lakshmipriya Devi, which tells the story of a disobedient schoolboy at Manipur who naively risks his security crossing Myanmar to search for his disappeared father to try to repair his broken family. Against the Himalayas, the “pyre” of Vinod Kapri offers a narrative sumptuously photographed on an elderly couple deeply in love but fighting to survive in a changing mountain society.
Beyond film screenings, the festival will celebrate the emerging talents of British Asia through a new industry event developed in collaboration with Rifco Theater. The initiative aims to encourage more British South Asians to enter the film industry while exploring co-production opportunities. This professional component will be accompanied by the popular program of the British Shorts Festival.
The London Indian Film Festival takes place from July 16 to 23 in BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX. The Birmingham Indian Film Festival takes place from July 17 to 23 at the Midlands Arts Center.
