MIAAC Closes 8th Annual Film Festival with Little Zizou; Announces 2008 Winners
Posted by editor@vimooz.com on November 14, 2008 under Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival | 
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.
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 (pictured above). Cash award of $5.000 presented by Author Salman Rushdie, Aalika Mahindra, and Divya Mahindra.
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.