NEW YORK - April 9, 2026 - Awesome TV, New York City's premier South Asian diaspora entertainment network, today announced the launch of the Awesome International Film Festival (AwesomeIFF), an inaugural celebration of South Asian diaspora cinema and global independent storytelling. AwesomeIFF will take place on August 14, 2026 at the iconic SVA Theatre in Manhattan, New York City.
AwesomeIFF is built on the belief that cinema has no borders. Hosted at one of New York City's most prestigious independent cinema venues, the festival will bring together filmmakers, industry professionals, and audiences united by a love of authentic, diverse, and boundary-pushing narratives. The festival will recognize excellence across 11 award categories, culminating in an awards ceremony.
SVA Theatre, located in the heart of Chelsea, Manhattan, is one of New York City's most celebrated independent cinema destinations — and a home to the Tribeca Film Festival. Its world-class screening facilities and legacy of showcasing bold, groundbreaking independent cinema make it the ideal stage for AwesomeIFF's inaugural edition.
Submissions open April 9, 2026 on FilmFreeway at filmfreeway.com/awesomeiff, with an Early Bird deadline of April 28, 2026. The festival accepts submissions across Narrative (Short & Feature), Documentary (Short & Feature), Animation, Music Video, Student, Social Media Content Creator (Influencer), and AI-Driven categories — welcoming filmmakers and creators of all backgrounds who have a story worth telling.
“AwesomeIFF is more than a film festival — it is a movement. After more than a decade of championing NRI voices through Awesome TV, launching our own festival at SVA Theatre feels like a natural and necessary next step. We want to give every storyteller a stage, regardless of where they come from or what format they create in.” — Ritesh Parikh, Founder, Awesome TV / Festival Director, AwesomeIFF
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL
Founded by Awesome TV — a South Asian diaspora entertainment network with over 1.5 million followers across YouTube (550K+), Facebook (1M+), and Instagram (99K+) — AwesomeIFF is backed by a decade of celebrity interviews, Bollywood award coverage, entertainment programming, and NRI cultural advocacy.
The festival brings that media reach directly to bear on behalf of submitted filmmakers, with Official Selections receiving coverage on awesometv.com and AWSM Times, social features reaching Awesome TV's full 1.5M+ follower network, global media coverage, and distribution across Awesome TV's international network and AWSM Times digital platforms.
The festival's jury includes David S. Zucker, Show Creator, Executive Producer, Producer & Writer at David Zucker Productions Inc. (Los Angeles), and Tirlok Malik, New York Emmy Award-nominated Actor, Film Producer & CEO of Apple Productions, founder of NRI TV Film Club, and producer of landmark NRI cinema since 1990, including Lonely in America, which screened at 37 festivals across 74 countries. Additional jury members from film, television, and the creative arts will be announced in the coming weeks.
AWARD CATEGORIES
AwesomeIFF will recognize excellence across the following categories:
• Best Feature Film
• Best Short Film
• Best Documentary
• Best AI Film
• Best Music Video
• Best Director
• Best Performance
• Best Student Film
• Best Social Media Content Creator (Influencer)
• Audience Choice Award
• Special Jury Recognition
All winners receive the AwesomeIFF Trophy, an official certificate of recognition, global media coverage, and distribution across Awesome TV's international network and AWSM Times digital platforms.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Submissions Open: April 9, 2026
Early Bird Deadline: April 28, 2026
Regular Deadline: May 29, 2026
Late Deadline: June 26, 2026
Extended Deadline: July 17, 2026
Notification Date: July 20, 2026
Festival Date: August 14, 2026
Venue: SVA Theatre, 333 W 23rd St, New York, NY 10011
Submissions: filmfreeway.com/awesomeiff
ABOUT AWESOME TV
Awesome TV is New York City's premier South Asian diaspora entertainment media network, founded in 2013 by Ritesh Parikh. Operating across awesometv.com, awsmtimes.com, and awesomeiff.com, Awesome TV has built a combined social following of 1.5 million+ across YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram — reaching over 10 million people monthly across all platforms.
The network covers Bollywood, Hollywood crossover content, NRI cultural events, awards shows, celebrity interviews, and breaking South Asian entertainment news, with global media coverage reaching audiences across international media networks — championing NRI voices in media for over a decade.
Instagram: @awesomeiff
FilmFreeway: filmfreeway.com/awesomeiff
Media Contact
Company Name: AwesomeIFF
Contact Person: Ritesh Parikh
Email: Send Email
Country: United States
Website: www.awesomeiff.com
