India International Film Festival of Boston Puts Women's Issues in the Spotlight

The India International Film Festival of Boston (IIFFB) is gearing up for its eighth annual event, showcasing films that tackle social issues with a special focus on women's challenges in India and beyond.

This year's festival runs from September 12-14 and will feature about 35 films chosen from over 100 submissions from around the world.

Razia Mashkoor, a Burlington resident who founded the festival along with a number other women, spoke of the importance of the event to highlight Indian culture and social issues facing the diaspora community. "This kind of event is not happening for Indians. This is the first one," she said.

She went on to explain that IIFFB aims to shed light on struggles that people, especially women and children, are facing – including mental health, domestic violence, and the fallout from religious violence. "The films center on women issues, children issues, mental health. People don't know how women are suffering in the rural areas and the village areas."

The short film Palayan (a word that means "travel"), which portrays a woman escaping an abusive marriage was showcased last year. Another shed light on the practice of female genital mutilation.

This year's lineup includes What Will People Say, a film about a young Muslim woman who survived an ethnic cleansing in Gujarat in 2002 and now runs an organization helping poor and oppressed women and girls, as well as Pyre, which tells the story of senior citizens living in the remote hills with only goat and cow milk to survive.

Mashkoor said there are comedy selections, as well, but it's important to the festival's founders to highlight issues that aren't always featured at similar film festivals.

The event has taken place at Lexington's Cary Hall in previous years, but 2025 brings a change in scenery. The opening night of this year's festival takes place at Nakshatra in Westboro, with screenings held at Apple Cinemas at Fresh Pond in Cambridge. The closing night event is set for the Mosesian Center for the Arts in Watertown.

About 15 guests will be attending from India, said Mashkoor, including filmmakers presenting their work as well as actors. The festival also features submissions from filmmakers of Indian origin living abroad, as well as non-Indian filmmakers exploring relevant themes.

Film are all about storytelling and connection, said Mashkoor. "Until you reach out and talk, it's all just assumptions about what you feel or believe."

The festival operates as a nonprofit, staying true to its mission of showcasing important stories. Tickets are available on the event website.