This year, The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles went virtual. SHALINI SAKSENA brings you a report

This last one year has been a learning curve for everybody across the globe. The present pandemic that has killed over 33 lakh people globally has people indoors and restricted travel for most. Hence, from holding classes virtually, to stand-up going online to even festivals being organised virtually, the world has definitely changed.

The latest to jon the virtual world is The Indian Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) that went live from May 20, 2021. The festival includes a vast array of highlights from an extraordinary 13 regions in India, representing over seven languages. Christina Marouda, founder, IFFLA tells you that it was a straightforward decision to go virtual given the pandemic situation both in the US and in India.

“At the time of our decision — end of 2020 beginning of 2021 — the pandemic situation in Los Angeles (LA) was alarming. Traveling to and from India was not possible or even safe. There was no concrete information from LA County about the reopening, including large gatherings and movie theaters. Therefore, it was the safest decision for our staff, filmmakers and audiences to hold the festival virtually,” Marouda says.

There were challenges involves; the biggest was to discover and learn the new skills required to hold a film festival virtually, and that, too, within a very short period of time.

“Nuances included selecting the right screening platform that would be 100 per cent secure, user-friendly and esthetically attractive; creating the India pass which gives access to everyone in India; figuring out which films can be made available in India, how much to charge for this pass (`150), how to cover financial loss for making this pass available,” Marouda tells you. People in California and India can buy a pass and watch films from home, on Eventive, she says.

The IFFLA opened with Fire in the Mountains a 2021 Sundance-selected debut feature by Ajitpal Singh. Ankush Jindal, director programming, IFFLA tells you that they opened with this this film becasue it represents the overall mission of IFFLA, which is to showcase strong work by emerging talent to audiences that are eager to see the best of Indian cinema.

“It’s a remarkable film that immerses us in the foothills of the Himalayas as we follow Chandra, the protagonist whose strength carries us through the film,” Jindal says. As part of their process, they tracked other festivals, reach out to their industry partners, and looked at the submissions, which in total ended up being over 250 films. They looked at a variety of factors to select the films.

“These included storytelling, the use of the cinematic form, amplifying debut talent, and better representation of emerging and underrepresented voices. We have tried to maintain a healthy balance between considering specific criteria and paying attention to those films that allow us to turn off our conscious minds for a while and escape into the stories,” Jindal says. He finds it difficult to to choose a favourite.

“It’s impossible to choose a film as a favourite. Our programming team is made up from a unique array of backgrounds and tastes, and our job is to represent our audiences. We want them to walk away from our festival excited about the stories that our filmmakers are telling, and by the immense talent that exists within their community. The whole slate of films is incredibly diverse, with 17 languages represented, notably with four Assamese films and five Tamil-language films, and an impressive shorts program with shorts that have already garnered high acclaim at places like Sundance, Berlin, Rotterdam, Venice Biennale, and the Academy Awards.

Every film we choose and the dozens of films we are always sadly unable to include, helps serve this purpose in its own way,” Jindal tells you. The festival concludes on may 27, 2021, with Akshay Indikar’s Sthalpuran (Chronicle of Space). “The film premiered at Berlinale, and it is exactly the type of exciting and original film making from a young filmmaker. It makes for a great closing night film because I’m confident it will leave audiences with a sense of excitement about the future of the Indian film industry,” Jindal says.