Birmingham Indian Film Festival (BIFF), part of Europe’s largest South Asian film festival, returns to the Midlands with an exciting programme of screenings and events for 11 days from 27 June – 7 July.

BIFF venue partners for 2024 include mac Cinema & Theatre, Cineworld Broad Street, Mockingbird Cinema, Light Cinema, Walsall, BOM and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire at Birmingham City University.  The Festival is supported by BFI, awarding National Lottery funding and major partner Bagri Foundation.

The festival features Midland premiere screenings, a wide range of post-show talks with directors and cast members, an internationally programmed film competition, an LGBTQIA+ film showcase, and cutting-edge XR experiences. This year, the festival is also pleased to provide more BSL screenings than ever before.

The opening night gala at mac Theatre is the Midlands premiere of US indie tear-jerker drama Paper Flowers, starring Deadpool’s Karan Soni as well as a stand-out young cast. Audiences will want to stay after the credits, as the evening ends with a post-show Q&A with director Mahesh Pailoor.

Audiences can expect a heart-pounding special Midlands preview of Lionsgate’s Kill. Produced by Bollywood icon Karan Johar (Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) of Dharma Productions, and Oscar-winning producer Guneet Monga (The Elephant Whisperers), this operatic action thriller will have viewers on the edge of their seats (think John Wick on a train). The cinematic spectacle, which is Lionsgate’s first foray into South Asian cinema, will be shown at Cineworld Broad Street.

After successfully launching web series premieres last year, the festival is excited to be screening the first three episodes of Canadian series Late Bloomer. Audiences will be among the first in the UK to see this hilarious and heartfelt comedy, created by and starring social media star Jus Reign (Jasmeet Singh Raina), which follows the adventures of a young Sikh millennial struggling to navigate the complexities of life while balancing his Eastern roots with Western ideals.

The festival is proud to also present two breakthrough feminist pieces, Sthal and Wakhri. The Marathi language film Sthal, which won one of the top awards at the Toronto International Film Festival, follows a young woman's quest for education and empowerment. Through its subtle yet compelling storytelling, the film explores the importance of finding one's voice and the struggles encountered along the path to freedom. Acclaimed filmmaker Iram Parveen Bilal, meanwhile, presents Wakhri, a tale inspired by real-life figures like Qandeel Baloch (Pakistan’s first social media celebrity). The moving film tells the story of a teacher and mother whose progressive views thrust her into overnight fame. Her newfound stardom sees her facing a growing backlash, as she grapples with the challenges of trying to raise a son in a patriarchal world.

The captivating lineup of documentaries promise a cinematic journey through untold South Asian stories. Parama: A Journey with Aparna Sen celebrates the trials and achievements of India’s greatest female filmmaker, Aparna Sen, and offers a retrospective of her illustrious six-decade long filmmaking career. Prepare to be inspired by the Midlands premiere of UK-India co-production Tight: The World of Indian Bodybuilding and dive into the world of Aji, a young bodybuilder from South India, who is on a quest to carve out his own niche in the ever-evolving landscape of competitive bodybuilding.

The festival’s features programme is brimming with innovative and unmissable films including Kannada language award-winner Mithya and Gujarati language Shunya, which are both tender yet powerful coming-of-age stories following child protagonists as they navigate a rapidly changing society. BIFF presents the Midlands premiere of UK production rom-com Before Nikkah, a charming story about British Asians meeting on a first date, inspired by Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise.

The festival’s pioneering LGBTQIA+ film showcase, Too Desi Too Queer, returns with a fresh selection of groundbreaking and thought-provoking queer films. From heartwarming love stories to inspiring documentaries, these eye-opening shorts celebrate and amplify the voices of South Asian queer individuals.

The festival continues to champion a new generation of emerging South Asian filmmakers with both the internationally programmed Satyajit Ray Short Film Competition and the New Brit-Asian Shorts. The competition, which was inspired by the humanist work of the legendary Indian filmmaker, offers five short films to be judged by a distinguished jury, with the winner receiving a £1,000 cash prize supported by Civic Studios. Previous winners include Saim Sadiq, director of Joyland, and Shubhashish Bhutiani, director of Hotel Salvation. Birmingham talent is on show in the New Brit-Asian Shorts, which features director Billy Dosanjh’s Lumbu as well as local actress Bharti Patel in Rajinder Kochar’s Rita Goes Viral.

The festival has transformed beyond film as it embraces a diverse array of moving image media. This year, BIFF will be following up its foray into immersive experiences with a South Asian XR Showcase, curated by Birmingham’s Taran Singh who helped make a 3D design of Perry the Commonwealth Games mascot.  This free event is a virtual world of South Asian stories and cutting-edge XR experiences and will take place at BOM.

Birmingham Indian Film Festival is thrilled to be expanding accessibility for Deaf and hearing-impaired audiences, with more screenings featuring BSL-interpreted Q&As across all our cinemas.

Closing the Festival at Lighthouse Cinema, Walsall is Queen of my Dreams, directed by Fawza Mirza and starring Amrit Kaur, Hamza Haq, and Nimra Bucha. In this colourful and song-soaked delight of a film, young Pakistani woman Azra lives an alternative lifestyle with her white female friend in Toronto, which is worlds apart from her conservative Muslim mother’s traditional values.

For full programme listings and information on how to book, go to: birminghamindianfilmfestival.co.uk