Hollywood, Bollywood join for digital avatar of London India Film Festival

Hollywood and Bollywood productions alongside independent Indian cinema are being brought together for the first digital version of the annual London Indian Film Festival (LIFF) from Thursday, given the social distancing restrictions imposed as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.

The collaboration between the Bagri Foundation London Indian Film Festival and Birmingham Indian Film Festival includes a diverse line-up made up of UK premieres of Prakash Jha's upward mobility schooling drama ‘Pareeksha’, gangster flick ‘Moothon’ and the 'American Pie' style comedy ‘The MisEducation of Bindu’, among others.

"We are delighted that we have been successfully able to move the festival into a digital offering during the UK lockdown, and especially



want to thank the generous film companies, actors and directors who have contributed their time and effort to help us achieve this high quality free site, which we aim to evolve into the future so that more people across the UK can view Indian indie cinema," said Cary Rajinder Sawhney, LIFF Executive and Programming Director of the festival.

"As well as classic LIFF films, we have some amazing new UK premieres that will continue LIFF's reputation for showcasing the best of South Asian cinema," he said.

With cinemas in England set to open within limited Covid-secure settings only from July 4, one of Europe's largest film festivals celebrating cinema from the Indian subcontinent has transformed into an online offering through its LoveLIFFAtHome.Com platform.