IFFLA Industry Days

IFFLA Industry Days
Thursday May 8 and Friday May 9, 2025
Landmark Theatres Sunset

After a successful first edition, IFFLA Industry Days expands to a two-day event in 2025, as a forum which fosters connections between South Asian film and TV creatives and industry leaders from Hollywood. Key executives from Neon, SAGIndie, Netflix, Temple Hill Entertainment, Orion Pictures, Film Independent, Gaumont Television, Macro, Color Creative, NBCUniversal, and more will participate in a series of IFFLA’s dynamic events, including the inaugural program titled IFFLA Connect, the Launchpad: Pitch Competition with a $10,000 award, panels and a masterclass. This year’s exciting lineup aims to bring together South Asian filmmakers to exchange inspiring stories and ideas, gain mentorship, build collaborations by networking with the community and beyond.

Explore our exciting lineup of programs below, or visit our 2025 Festival Guide to see all events and films.

Thursday May 8:

• Bringing Life of Pi to Life – From Page to Stage
• Global Vision: Specialty Studios and the Future of International Storytelling
• The Human Loop: Storytelling and Responsibility in the Age of AI

Friday, May 9:

• Launchpad: Pitch Competition 2025
• Masterclass – From Dhaka to Hollywood: The Genre-Bending World of Nuhash Humayun

Buy an Industry Days Pass or Industry All-Access Pass to attend these events!

This panel will explore the journey of bringing Life of Pi to the stage, from the novel’s global resonance to the groundbreaking puppetry, staging, and storytelling that have redefined what’s possible in live theater. Join special guests for a conversation about representation, adaptation and the cultural significance of seeing a South Asian-led narrative take center stage on Broadway and beyond.

Panelists include:

• Savidu Geevaratne – Ensemble/u/s/ Pi
• Sharayu Mahale – Rani/u/s Pi
• Sorab Wadia – Father 

This panel brings together influential professionals from the independent and specialty studio space such as NEON, Focus Features, and Orion Pictures, to discuss how their companies are navigating the evolving challenges of today’s film industry. As the US market undergoes significant shifts, the conversation will explore the growing importance of international stories and voices in shaping the future of cinema.

Panelists:

• Kate Gondwe, Manager, Acquisitions, Development & Production, Neon
• Priyanka Kapoor, Creative Executive, Orion
• Marisa Messina, Creative Executive of Production and Development, Focus Features

Moderator: Priya Desai, Producer, Prism Entertainment

Immediately following the screening of Aranya Sahay’s Humans in the Loop, join us for a conversation around the responsible use of technology in storytelling. This panel, moderated by IFFLA Senior Programmer Senain Kheshgi, and with the participation of filmmaker Aranya Sahay, Manjula Nadkarni, co-founder and CEO of Yuni, and Shri Narayanan, USC Vice President for Presidential Initiatives and University Professor, will discuss the responsible use of technology in storytelling, featuring voices from the film and AI industries. Topics will include ethics, automation, and the invisible labour behind artificial intelligence.

Panelists: 

• Manjula Nadkarni, Co-founder and CEO of Yuni
• Shrikanth (Shri) Narayanan, Vice President for Presidential Initiatives and University Professor
• Aranya Sahay, Filmmaker, Director (Humans in the Loop)

Moderator:  Senain Kheshgi, Director, Writer, Producer

This event accompanies the screening of  Humans in the Loop, and is also available with the Industry Days Pass or Fest Pass.
Click here to buy passes.

OR Buy a standalone ticket to the screening and panel.

Five selected finalists will have the chance to pitch their idea for a feature film or episodic series to a panel of distinguished, industry-expert judges, in front of a live audience. The judges will give immediate feedback, not only granting valuable advice to the contestants but also providing an educational experience to the gathered audience as to what goes into crafting an effective pitch. The pitch competition winner of the $10,000 development grant will be announced at the Award Ceremony on IFFLA Closing Night, May 10th. 

Meet the finalists and their projects! 
Click the image below.

Pitch Competition Jury:

• Aanch Khaneja, TV and Film Producer
• Isaac Klausner, President of Production, Temple Hill Entertainment 
• Santiago Marcos, Director of Development, Gaumont Television
• Madhuri Shekar, Writer (Three Body Problem, Evil Eye)
• Chisom Ude, Development Executive, Inflection Point Entertainment

Mentors:

• • Siobhan Flynn, Head of Production and Development, Ventanarosa 
  • Lakshmi Iyengar, Independent Producer and Film Executive
  • Killian Kerwin, President, Jaya Entertainment
  • Roshan Sethi, Director, Writer, Producer (7 Days, A Nice Indian Boy, The Resident)

Learn more about the finalists and their projects!

This is an intimate masterclass with Nuhash Humayun (Moshari), one of the most exciting voices to emerge from South Asia’s new wave of filmmakers. In this masterclass, Nuhash will reflect on the challenges of telling bold, local stories that resonate globally, the mechanics of working across industries and geographies, and what it means to make space for South Asian horror in the global film conversation. 

Moderator:  Bijon Imtiaz, Writer, Director, Producer

This event accompanies the screening of Nuhash’s series Dui Shaw, and is also available with the Industry Days Pass or Fest Pass.
Click here to buy passes

OR Buy a standalone ticket to the screening and Masterclass.

Nuhash Humayun is a Bangladeshi-American writer and director who combines genre and South Asian storytelling. A self-taught filmmaker, Nuhash wrote, directed, and edited the short film Moshari (IFFLA 2022), executive-produced by Jordan Peele and Riz Ahmed. Moshari won the 2022 SXSW Jury Award as well as 10 awards at HollyShorts, Fantasia, Atlanta, Melbourne, and many more. Moshari is the first Oscar-qualifying film in Bangladesh’s history. Nuhash’s supernatural anthology Pett Kata Shaw (2023), widely touted to have reinvented Bangladeshi horror, won Best International Feature at the 2023 Raindance Film Festival.

Presented in collaboration with Cinévesture, this new IFFLA initiative will showcase a curated selection of South Asian projects from India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, under the banner CinéV-IFFLA, alongside IFFLA’s own hand-picked projects from North America. Designed as a nexus for collaboration, IFFLA Connect links promising projects with key professionals, offering crucial support in financing, production, casting, and beyond.

This event is open only to the selected project participants and Industry invitees. 

Click image below to find out more about the projects!

Since its launch in 2004, IFFLA’s signature industry program One-on-One has played a vital role in connecting emerging South Asian filmmakers with respected players in the North American film industry. Held annually during the festival, the program facilitates a series of curated 15-minute meetings between participating filmmakers and top industry professionals from major studios, independent production and distribution companies, and talent agencies. Designed to foster meaningful connections and career advancement, One-on-One has led to numerous success stories, including alumni securing representation and launching new creative collaborations. Industry participants include Netflix, NBCUniversal Launch, CAPE, ColorCreative, Film Independent, Macro, M88, SAGIndie, The Film Collaborative, The SB Initiative, Jaya Entertainment and Upgrade Productions. 

This event is open only to the IFFLA 2025 filmmakers. 

For all public Industry Days programs, click below to buy an Industry Days Pass or Industry All-Access Pass.

IFFLA Industry Day Sponsors: