The India Center Hosts Emerging Artist Festival

(From Left to Right) Jasbir Mehta, Asian Cultural Association; Heerak Shah, UCF Film Lecturer; Leila Chacko, UCF India Center; Priyanka Chandra, Asian Cultural Association.

The second annual Emerging Artist Festival, hosted in partnership between the Asian Cultural Association and the India Center at UCF, took place November 12, 2021 at the downtown UCF campus.  The festival featured a short film competition with entries submitted by filmmakers from the United States and India.

The goal of the festival is to give emerging artists a platform to showcase their work about South Asian culture. Last year’s festival was held virtually due to the Covid-19 pandemic.  This year, following the in-person screening of selected films, the winners of the 2021 festival were announced.  UCF film lecturer Heerak Shah won best script for The Iceman.  UCF film students took home two prizes; Abiesel Baez won best director for ¡Ollie! and Dakota Bozeman won best social impact for I Won’t Let You Get Lost.

The winners of the 2021 Emerging Artist Festival:

Best Film: Shikhandi by Sahil Gada

Best Director:  ¡Ollie! by Abiesel Baez

Best Story: Grandma’s Tale of The Magical Ou-tenga by Rishab Thakur

Best Social Impact: I Won’t Let You Get Lost by Dakota Bozeman

Best Script: The Iceman by Heerak Shah