Mammootty and Mohanlal’s ‘Patriot’ to be the opening film at IFFLA 2026

The Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) has announced the film and events lineup for its 24th edition. Mammootty and Mohanlal’s much-awaited film, Patriot will be the opening film at the festival which will take place from April 23-26, 2026.

The festival will close with Anusha Rizvi’s The Great Shamsuddin Family, which had streaming release last year.

This 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, Netherlands, Germany, Saudi Arabia, and the USA.

The narrative features lineup includes impressive filmmaking debuts and award winners, including, Seemab Gul’s Ghost School, Mahde Hasan’s Sand City, Tribeny Rai’sShape of Momo, Sarmad Khoosat’s Lali and Anuparna Roy’s Songs of Forgotten Trees, among others.

This year, the short film program features work by 13 female directors, including the world premiere of Nihaarika Negi’s Tenfa, produced by Storiculture, which previously also produced the acclaimed Humans in the Loop (IFFLA 2025).

Shorts having their Los Angeles premieres at IFFLA after gaining recognition at major international film festivals include, the Queer Palm award-winner at Cannes Critics’ Week, Bleat! by Ananth Subramaniam, a surreal comedy about a Malaysian-Tamil couple whose male goat turns out to be pregnant; the Cannes Special Mention winner Ali by Adnan Al Rajeev, a haunting Bangladeshi film about a young singer who must hide his true voice for a chance to move to the city; and O’Sey Balamma by Raman Nimmala, a soulful story about the unexpected bond between a matriarch and her housekeeper as they confront solitude.

IFFLA 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.