Mammootty and Mohanlal's Patriot to open IFFLA 2026, check lineup

The 2026 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles IFFLA has announced the film and events lineup for its highly anticipated 24th edition IFFLA is set to take place April 2326 2026 Recognized worldwide as a leading platform for South Asian cinema in the US IFFLA celebrates that work while also shining a spotlight on new voices and helping film artists take vital next steps in their careers by connecting them with key industry professionalsThe film festivalrsquos highly impactful IFFLA Industry Days returns bigger and better than ever before ndash including panels masterclasses screenings and pitch finalists with details to be announced in the coming weeksIFLAA 2026 opens with PatriotThis year IFFLA will feature 27 films including seven narrative features two documentary features and 18 short films Countries represented include India Bangladesh Nepal Pakistan Malaysia the Philippines Japan France the UK the Netherlands Germany Saudi Arabia and the USAThe film festival opens with Mahesh Narayananrsquos Malayalam thriller Patriot one of the most anticipated Indian films of 2026 It is led by the towering legends of Malayalam cinemamdashMohanlal and Mammoottymdashwho come together on screen again after 18 yearsWith combats and chases secret missions and covert operatives death threats and assassination attempts the film is an edgeoftheseat espionage thriller It is packed with a high voltage starspangled ensemble featuring Fahadh Faasil Nayanthara amp RevathyIFLAA 2026 closes with The Great Shamsuddin FamilyThe festival will close with Anusha Rizvirsquos The Great Shamsuddin Family a razorsharp social satire set in Delhi and her longawaited followup to Peepli LiveThe witty tightly written social satire is set over the course of a single day inside a Delhi apartmentThe film centers around Bani played by Kritika Kamra a writer racing to meet a crucial deadline while managing her familyrsquos escalating turmoil Rizvi brilliantly turns domestic chaos into a microcosm of modern India balancing humour and heartbreak while crafting a tapestry of generational tension urban neurosis and female resilienceIFLAA 2026s lineupThe narrative features lineup includes impressive filmmaking debuts and award winnersSeemab Gulrsquos Ghost School is a deeply poignant and acutely observed directorial feature debut from an IFFLA alum The film tells the haunting story of a tenyearold girl Rabia moving through the cracks of a broken system with a steady courage that the adults around her seem to have lost when rumour breaks out that a jinn has possessed her teacher and now haunts her schoolMahde Hasans spectacular debut Sand City is set in the unforgiving metropolis of Dhaka where a young woman from the indigenous minority and an ambitious factory worker two strangers harbouring repressed desires and fantasies find themselves connected by the cityrsquos endless and shifting sand The film won the Proxima Grand Prix at the Karlovy Vary International Film FestivalTribeny Rais Shape of Momo which has been making waves around the world will have its North American premiere at IFFLA The film tells the story of a young woman who after quitting her job in Delhi returns to her ancestral home in a remote Himalayan village where she must negotiate the traditional expectations that have long defined the women around herAlso making its North American Premiere at IFFLA will be the darkly comic Lali directed by Sarmad Khoosat who has long been one of Pakistanrsquos most distinctive voices Coming from a deeply personal space this film tells the story of a newlywed couple caught between love and destiny and paints a quietly unsettling portrait of a family carrying wounds that refuse to healYet another impressive debut is Anuparna Royrsquos Songs of Forgotten Trees which follows two young migrant women who develop an unlikely bond as they strive to survive Mumbais urban sprawl The film garnered Roy the Best Director Award at the Venice Film FestivalKarla Murthys documentary The Gas Station Attendant is an intimate portrait of an immigrant fathers journey from the streets of India to the realities of life in America woven from archival footage and recorded phone conversations between the filmmaker and her father while he worked the nightshift as a gas station attendant The film won Best Documentary at the Nashville Film Festival and a Special Mention at Sheffield DocFestMaking its world premiere during a special presentation screening Ben Rekhi and Swetlanas documentary Breaking The Code is a deeply personal story where Rekhi retraces his fathers path from a modest childhood in newly independent India to his rise as a tech pioneer in Silicon Valley mdash a powerful story of migration sacrifice and love that broke the glass ceiling for Indians in AmericaIFLAA 2026s short film programmeThe dynamic short film program which this year features work by 13 female directors includes the world premiere of Nihaarika Negis sweeping Tenfa produced by Storiculture which previously also produced the acclaimed Humans in the Loop Working closely with the local Kinnauri community this intergenerational tale follows an unlikely trio of women as they cross a remote Himalayan landscape in search of an endangered herb that could save a mothers life guided by a forgotten folk songPermanent Guest directed by Joyland coproducer Sana Zahra Jafri is a riveting psychological thriller about a young woman in Lahore who must weigh her familial duty against her growing rage when shersquos paid a visit by an unwanted uncleMaking its North American premiere Hidden Sun by Girls Will Be Girlsdirector Shuchi Talati is a stirring drama about a discontent couple whose desire for each other is reawakened when they cross paths with a flamenco dancerIFFLA 2026 is supported in part by the Joy of Sharing Foundation Tarsadia Foundation Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs and additional sponsors