New York, NY (November 11, 2008) – The 8th Annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival wrapped up its five-day event on Sunday, November 9 at the Walter Reade Theater with the premiere of Sooni Taraporevala’s Little Zizou. IAAC Executive Director Aroon Shivdasani gave closing night remarks followed by Senior Vice President of the Mahindra Group, Prochiee Mukherji, who spoke about the Mahindra-IAAC partnership.  Mira Nair introduced the closing night film.  Richard Pena, Director of the Film Society of Lincoln Center, moderated a post-screening discussion with Ms. Taraporevala and her cast.

MIAAC closing night concluded with an awards ceremony, introduced by Ms. Shivdasani. The MIAAC Film Festival winners were chosen by a jury comprised of ten members specializing in film.  Overall, this year’s festival screened 32 independent Indian and Diaspora films, all New York or US premieres, and held dozens of special events and panels.

Following are 2008 MIAAC Award Results:

• Best Short Film Award: Noise directed by Raj Nidimoru and Krishna DK.  Cash award of $2,500 presented by Actress Sarita Choudhury.
     
• Analog Digital Award for Best Documentary Film: Lakshmi and Me by Nishtha Jain.  Cash award of $2,500 presented by Analog Digital President, Ayres D’Cunha
     
• Best Actor Award: Sachin Khedekar for Bose: The Forgotten Hero.  Cash award of $5,000 presented by Author Suketu Mehta.
     
• Prestige Jewelry Award for Best Actress: Mandira Banerjee for Shadows Formless.  Cash award of $5,000 presented by Prestige Jewelry Vice President Dina Kothari and Actress/Director/Author Madhur Jaffrey.
     
• Time Warner Award for Best Screenplay: Sooni Taraporevala for Little Zizou.  Cash award of $5,000 presented by Ambassador Vijay Nambiar and Time Warner Director of Marketing & On-Demand Services Betty Campbell Adams.
     
• Best Director Award: Sooni Taraporevala (Little Zizou) and Ashish Avikunthak (Shadows Formless).  Cash award of $5,000 presented by Director, Mira Nair..
     
• INDIRA MAHINDRA AWARD FOR BEST FILM: Amal by Richie Mehta. Cash award of $5.000 presented by Author Salman Rushdie, Aalika Mahindra, and Divya Mahindra.
    
  

For more information on the MIAAC Film Festival’s Awards Jury,
visit: http://www.iaac.us/MIAAC2008/awards.htm

MIAAC will travel to the Queens Museum of Art on November 15 from 3-8PM.  Two of this year’s films, Amal and Colours of Passion, will be shown at the Museum.  For more information, visit: www.iaac.us.

Other highlights of the five-day MIAAC Film Festival:

• The Film Festival kicked off on November 5 with an Opening Night Gala screening of Deepa Mehta’s Heaven on Earth.  Gala chairs Mira Nair and Shabana Azmi walked the red carpet.
     
• The Festival screened films followed by exciting post-screening discussions in seven packed theaters across the city, including Jazz at Lincoln Center, Tribeca Cinemas, Museum of Arts and Design, and the ImaginAsian Theater
     
• NYWIFT and IFP hosted a number of panels on different aspects of the film industry.  The festival also included panels on Shooting in Bombay and going Beyond Bollywood..
     
• A special event, “NY/Bombay: An evening with Mira Nair & Suketu Mehta,” took place at the Times Center in which the two prominent Indo-American cultural figures discussed the connection between the two cities and its impact on the film industry.
    
• Teri McLuhan’s The Frontier Gandhi: Badshan Khan, A Torch For Peace played at a special screening followed by the film’s music composer David Amram’s World Beat concert..
     
• Special announcement by writer Salman Rushdie and director Deepa Mehta of their collaboration to write the screenplay and film Midnights Children next year.
    
• Director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire made its New York premiere as the Festival’s Centerpiece.
     
• Sooni Taraporevala directorial debut film Little Zizou closed the Film Festival at the Closing Night Gala.    

For information on the MIAAC Film Festival’s Awards Jury, visit: http://www.iaac.us/MIAAC2008/awards.htm

The Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival will travel to the Queens Museum of Art on November 15 from 3PM to 8PM. Two of the films, Amal and Colours of Passion, will be shown at the Museum. For more information, visit: www.iaac.us.

About the Indo-American Arts Council
The Indo-American Arts Council is a registered not-for-profit arts organization passionately dedicated to showcasing, building awareness, and celebrating artists of Indian origin in the performing, visual and literary arts. Annual festivals of art, dance, playwrighting and film are scheduled through the year, with several special events and book launches. For further information please visit www.iaac.us.

The IAAC Film Festival was born in the aftermath of 9/11 in response to Mayor Giuliani’s call to New Yorkers to help rebuild a limping city. The First Annual film Festival opened its doors with Film Diaspora Godfather Ismail Merchant and closed with New York’s favorite Indian filmmaker Mira Nair. Three years ago, Mahindra & Mahindra joined forces with the IAAC Film Festival by becoming the lead sponsor, changing the name of the festival to The MIAAC Film Festival. For further information please visit www.iaac.us.

About The Mahindra Group
The US $6.7 billion Mahindra Group is among the top 10 industrial houses in India. Mahindra & Mahindra is the only Indian company among the top tractor brands in the world. Mahindra’s Farm Equipment Sector has recently won the Japan Quality Medal, the only tractor company worldwide to be bestowed this honour. It also holds the distinction of being the only tractor company worldwide to win the Deming Prize. Mahindra is the market leader in multi-utility vehicles in India. It made a milestone entry into the passenger car segment with the Logan. The Group has a leading presence in key sectors of the Indian economy, including the financial services, trade and logistics, automotive components, after-market, information technology, and infrastructure development.