Northern festivals bring the best of London Indian Film Festival to local audiences.
London Indian Film Festival, the country’s largest platform for South Asian cinema, is expanding its reach across the UK with the introduction of fully-fledged regional festivals in the Midlands, North West and Yorkshire.
Manchester Indian Film Festival and Yorkshire Indian Film Festival run from late-October to early-November. Each brings the best of the London programme to audiences in the North - with screenings taking place in Manchester and Leeds, and additional community events taking place in the surrounding boroughs.
The Northern line-up celebrates the breadth and diversity of South Asian cinema today. British Asian stories feature in Mutiny: Asians Storm British Music - a music doc charting the boom of British Asian musicians breaking through in the 1990s - and the Brit-Asian Shorts programme, which includes two stories from Yorkshire filmmakers: the Hub-backed All the Lights Still Burning and F.O.G., which was recently selected for our Northern Exposure short film night.
Heavy-hitters of Indian cinema are showcased with screenings of Kennedy, the latest thriller from director Anurag Kashyap (Gangs of Wasseypur), and Padataik - Srijit Mukherji’s tribute to the life and work of leading Indian New Wave filmmaker Mrinal Sen. Manchester Indian Film Festival welcomes both Anurag Kashyap and Srijit Mukherji to the North West for director Q&A events.
Elsewhere in the programme, the festival’s all-conquering LGBTQTIA+ programme, Too Desi, Too Queer makes a welcome return to Manchester - this time for a special evening hosted by local drag artist and LGBT activist Lucky Roy Singh. The festival also explores new formats and frontiers for screen culture with events diving into the wide and wonderful worlds of South Asian web series and video gaming.
I’m thrilled about the 2023 edition of the Manchester Indian Film Festival - this year's lineup is an exhilarating celebration of Asian cinema and the diverse voices it represents. From India’s first zom-com and high-octane action films to touching character dramas and tributes to iconic directors, we've curated an exceptional and inclusive selection of films. This year we’re also embracing the world of technology, and have joined forces with FORMAT, Manchester’s biggest gaming and nightlife event to showcase the newest and most innovative Indian games. Get ready for an unforgettable journey through the world of Indian and South Asian cinema! - Chris Massey, Manchester Indian Film Festival
Film Hub North is pleased to support Manchester Indian Film Festival 2023 and Yorkshire Indian Film Festival 2023 with National Lottery funding through our Film Exhibition Fund.
Hub support will help the festivals fully establish themselves across the North with the recruitment of regional festival staff and launching the inaugural edition of Yorkshire Indian Film Festival. Funding will also help the festivals reach local audiences through events held directly in the community, as well as providing travel and subsidised tickets to screenings in the main festival programme.
Manchester Indian Film Festival 2023 and Yorkshire Indian Film Festival 2023 are supported by National Lottery funding through our Film Exhibition Fund.
