Another year, and another successful Indian film Festival week has com and gone. Ever since Founder Christina Marouda launched this ambitious venture over 8 years ago, the Indian Film Festival has developed into a mainstay institution in the heart of Hollywood California.

It took the passionate love affair of an accomplished Greek Entrepreneur to bring this vision into place and every year the event becomes more prestigious and garners more attention not only from the Indian Community, also from the film going community.

The ArcLight Theaters in Hollywood provide the perfect, backdrop and venue for such an event, and with corporate sponsorship increasing and growing by leaps and bounds since inception, its no wonder that the Indian Film Festival is here to stay.

A testament to the festival’s legacy thanks to Marouda and the staff is how the Indian film Festival has grown not only as a film festival that showcases unique Indian films from around the world, also how the festival has grown into a resource for filmmakers, aspiring writers, and producers to participate in programs, seminars and developmental initiatives sponsored by IFFLA through the years. This year is no different with Kranti Kanade, this year’s recipient of the Development Fund grant at this year’s festival. After briefly speaking with Kanade at the festival he is well on his way to shooting his next feature film in India thanks in large support to the festival.

This year’s Gala also didn’t disappoint featuring “Cooking with Stella” written and directed by Dilip Mehta the brother of accomplished filmmaker Deepa Mehta. The star studded evening was capped off with a wonderful Gala sponsored by Chakra Cuisine and Divya Wine.

There are many reasons why the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles has not only endures but excelled over the years, and most important of which this reviewer finds is that the talented staff has been able to craft a wonderful festival and event that truly feels like a homecoming, even for this Indian who calls Southern California his home.

The Spirited Critic