The first-ever New York City South Asian Film Festival (NYC SAFF), presented by Toyota, will kick off on Friday, November 15th at the Altman Building (135 W 18th Street in Chelsea) with the world premiere of Rohit Karn Batra’s mafia family drama, LINE OF DESCENT, starring Abhay Deol and Brendan Fraser (both in attendance). The festival’s centerpiece film on Saturday, November 16th is the New York premiere of Gitanjali Rao’s animated Bollywood film BOMBAY ROSE. The festival will close out its programming with the North American premiere of Tannishtha Chatterjee’s directorial debut, ROAM ROME MEIN, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui (both in attendance).
Twenty four shorts, documentaries and feature films comprise the inaugural NYC SAFF, along with after parties, networking sessions and panel discussions, all taking place over 48 hours! Film synopses, trailers, entire lineup and ticket information are available on the festival’s website, www.nycsaff.com.
Opening Night Schedule (Friday, November 15th):
5:30 to 6:30 p.m. – Media check-in for red carpet assignments
6:30 to 7:30 p.m. – Red Carpet + Cocktail Reception
7:45 p.m. – Welcome Remarks by Manny Bansi, Vice President, Toyota Logistics Services, Toyota Motor North America
8 p.m. – World Premiere of LINE OF DESCENT + Q&A
10 p.m. – VIP After Party with DJ Ashu Rai + Catering by Chef Gaurav Anand
Talent Walking Red Carpet & Attending Festival:
LINE OF DESCENT: Feature
Rohit Karn Batra (director)
Abhay Deol (actor)
Brendan Fraser (actor)
PROOF: Short
Sonny Chatrath (executive producer)
Nora Jaenicke (director)
Robert Wilson (actor)
Preeti Gupta (actress)
Jacopo Rampini (actor)
FRACTURED SOULS: Short
Eliezer Vergara (director)
Asim Farooki (actor)
THE UNEXPECTED: Short
Rishi Kumar (director)
FREAK: Short
Siraj Huda (producer, director, actor, writer)
AGENCY: Short
Omar Rahim (director)
Ami Sheth (actor)
Saks Afridi (actor)
Sadiq Samani (actor)
SUPER SONIC: Short
Saleem Gondal (writer/director)
LOVESICK: Documentary
Priya Giri Desai (co-director)
KHEJDI: Feature
Ashish Sharma (actor)
Archana Taide Sharma (producer)
DARLING: Short
Mahak Jiwani (producer)
THE LEAST OF THESE: Feature
Victor Abraham (executive producer)
MAI GHAT: Feature
Usha Jadhav (actress)
ROAM ROME MEIN: Feature
Tannishtha Chatterjee (actress/director)
Nawazuddin Siddiqui (actor)