The Indo-American Arts Council (IAAC) is an American non-profit

Non-profit organization

Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...

 cultural organization that promotes Indian art

Indian art

Indian Art is the visual art produced on the Indian subcontinent from about the 3rd millennium BC to modern times. To viewers schooled in the Western tradition, Indian art may seem overly ornate and sensuous; appreciation of its refinement comes only gradually, as a rule. Voluptuous feeling is...

, theatre, film

Cinema of India

The cinema of India consists of films produced across India, which includes the cinematic culture of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal. Indian films came to be followed throughout South Asia and...

, fashion, music

Music of India

The music of India includes multiple varieties of folk, popular, pop, classical music and R&B. India's classical music tradition, including Carnatic and Hindustani music, has a history spanning millennia and developed over several eras. It remains fundamental to the lives of Indians today as...

 and dance in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The Council was established in 1998 in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. The Council hosts the annual Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council Film Festival which showcases Indian and India-related films.

History

The IAAC was founded on August 1, 1998 by the editor of India Abroad

India Abroad

India Abroad is a weekly newspaper published from New York City, which focuses on Indian news meant for an Indian American, Indian diaspora and expatriate audience. The publication is known for its annual award ceremony for the "India Abroad Person of the Year."India Abroad was founded by Indian...

, Gopal Raju, American choreographer Jonathan Hollander and Aroon Shivdasani. In 2001, the IAAC established the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival to promote Indian and diasporic film in the United States.

Aroon Shivdasani and Jonathan Hollander are the Council's president and vice president. Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi

Shabana Azmi is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. An alumna of the Film and Television Institute of India of Pune, she made her film debut in 1974 and soon became one of the leading actresses of parallel cinema, an Indian New Wave movement known for its serious content and...

, Mallika Sarabhai

Mallika Sarabhai

Mallika Sarabhai is an activist and Indian Classical Dancer from Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. Daughter of Classical Dancer Mrinalini Sarabhai and renowned Space Scientist Vikram Sarabhai, Mallika is an accomplished Kuchipudi and Bharatanatyam dancer.-Early life:Mallika Sarabhai was born in...

, Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta

Deepa Mehta, LLD is a Genie Award-winning Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter, most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire , Earth , and Water , among which Earth was submitted by Indian government for Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film...

, Mira Nair

Mira Nair

Mira Nair is an Indian film director and producer based in New York. Her production company is Mirabai Films.She was educated at Delhi University and Harvard University. Her debut feature film, Salaam Bombay! , won the Golden Camera award at the Cannes Film Festival and also earned the nomination...

, Madhur Jaffrey

Madhur Jaffrey

Madhur Jaffrey is an Indian actress and food writer who introduced the Western world to the many cuisines of India.- Personal life :...

, Salman Rushdie, and Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor

Shashi Tharoor is an Indian politician and a Member of Parliament from the Thiruvananthapuram constituency in Kerala...

 serve on the IAAC Advisory Board

Advisory board

An advisory board is a body that advises the board of directors and management of a corporation but does not have authority to vote on corporate matters, nor a legal fiduciary responsibility...

.

MIAAC Film Festival

The festival shows films from India as well as films by members of the Indian diaspora

Non-resident Indian and Person of Indian Origin

A Non-Resident Indian is an Indian citizen who has migrated to another country, a person of Indian origin who is born outside India, or a person of Indian origin who resides permanently outside India. Other terms with the same meaning are overseas Indian and expatriate Indian...

. Many films have had their world and national premieres at the festival which is based in Manhattan

Manhattan

Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...

's Imagin Asian theatre.

Awards

• Best Film Award
• Best Director Award
• Best Actor Award
• Best Actress Award
• Best Screenplay Award
• Best Documentary Film Award
• Best Short Film Award
• People’s Choice Award