London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) 2025 – ‘Little Jaffna’, ‘Mahabharata’, ‘Village Rockstars 2’, and short ‘Before I do’ screenings…
Now it is 16th edition, it opens on Wednesday in London…
A BLOCKBUSTER gangster film that has more than a hint of hits ‘La Haine’ and ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’, and two films acv has already covered, feature in this year’s London Indian Film Festival (LIFF).
The 16th edition opens on Wednesday (July 16-23) with ‘Little Jaffna’, where a rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate a Tamil gang in Paris. Directed by Lawrence Valin, it’s been described as “‘La Haine meets Gangs of Wasseypur’” by organisers. It also opens the Birmingham Indian Film Festival which begins on Thursday (July 17).
Simon Brook, son of the late Peter Brook, brings his epic ‘The Mahabharata’ film to the festival.
It premiered in Venice last year and acv’s Tatiana Rosenstein talked to him about its making. (See video below).
It is his father’s 100th birth year anniversary and Brook senior was responsible for the international stage show, that aimed to tell the ancient epic story to new multi-cultural audiences with a multi-racial cast too. It played all over the world and was a big hit in Europe.
‘The Mahabharata’ is one of the longest poems ever created and dates back as far as the 3rd Century BCE. It essentially is a story about a war between branches of the same family and its lessons continue to be relevant to many and remains a constant source of inspiration and guidance.
The film, ‘The Mahabharata’ comes to LIFF at the BFI IMAX in London, on the South Bank on Sunday (July 20).
Rising internationally acclaimed director Rima Das returns to LIFF with her latest instalment behind the story of Dhunu, an aspiring Assamese musician, now not long out of school and trying to survive, looking after her elderly mother and wayward older brother. We saw ‘Village Rockstars 2’ at the Berlinale (February) and have an interview with Das shortly after its triumphant world premiere screening in Busan, South Korea last year. It won the Kim Jiseok Award there. (This interview will be posted to our Youtube channel shortly…Subscribe and do not miss!)
On Saturday (July 19), British Asian shorts take centre stage as the next generation of filmmakers enters the fray.
Among the eight shorts selected for screening is Gitika Butoo’s transgressive ‘Before I do’ – see our interview with Butoo… (link below).
Also screening in the New British Asian shorts section is ‘Bunnyhood’, an animated short which premiered at last year’s Cannes Film Festival and was awarded 3rd Prize in La Cinef section (which is reserved for recognised film school students). Maker Mansi Maheswari trained at the National Film and Television School in Beaconsfield.
We hope also to catch up with those filmmakers whose works were showcased by LIFF last year. (See our article about 2024 – link below)
‘Boong’, ‘Pyre’ are the other two feature films showing at LIFF this year.
Set in the troubled Indian state of Manipur in the country’s north east, ‘Boong’ tells the story of a boy looking for his father who is believed to have emigrated to Myanmar. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in September last year and is directed by Lakhshmipriya Devi and produced by Bollywood star Farhan Akhtar’s production outfit, Excel Entertainment.
‘Pyre’ is set in the Himalayas, and about an elderly couple struggling to come to terms with a changing modern society and is described as being “sumptuously photographed”. Directed by Vinod Kapri, it enjoyed a premiere at the Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (Estonia) in November last year.
Ticket links are right at the bottom of this page...
Top picture: ‘Little Jaffna‘
Previously
Simon Brook on ‘Mahabharata’
Rima Das interview (video pending)
Brit Asian shorts – ‘Before I do’
From LIFF 2024
Simple listings
London
Wednedsay July 16 – 6.10pm BFI Southbank – Little Jaffna
Friday July 18 – 8.15pm BFI Southbank – Village Rockstars 2
Saturday July 19 – 5.45pm BFI Southbank – Brit-Asian Shorts
Sunday July 20 – 11am, BFI IMAX – Mahabharata
Tuesday July 22 – 6pm, BFI Southbank – Pyre
Wednesday July 23 – 6.10pm, BFI Southbank – Boong (London Closing)
Birmingham
Thursday July 17 – 7.30 pm, MAC, Little Jaffna
Friday July 18 – 7.30 pm, MAC, Brit-Asian Shorts
Tuesday July 22 – 7 pm, MAC, Boong
Wednesday July 23rd – 7.30pm, MAC, Pyre
Venues
London
BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, South Bank London SE1 8XT
BFI Imax, Charlie Chaplin Walk, South Bank London SE1 8XR
Birmingham
MAC (Midlands Arts Centre): Cannon Hill Park, Birmingham B12 9QH
Tickets BFI Southbank – HERE
BFI Imax – ‘The Mahabharata’ – HERE
MAC – HERE
