New Delhi, May 14: "Human in the Loop", "Cactus Pears", "Village Rockstars 2" and "Holy Curse" received top honours at the 23rd Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in Jury and Audience Choice Awards categories. IFFLA, which was held in Los Angeles between May 6 and May 10, showcased a collection of South Asian stories from around the globe, including films from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the U.S., the U.K., and Canada, along with international co-productions from France, Singapore, and Norway.

"On behalf of all of us at IFFLA, I offer my warmest congratulations to this year's award winners. Your work moved, challenged, and inspired us. But beyond the accolades, we want to honor every filmmaker whose voice resonated through our screens. To us, every story shared here is a triumph and every artist, a winner," Artistic Director of the gala Anu Rangachar said in a statement. ‘How Did This Film Not Get Nominated for an Oscar?’: Scarlett Johansson Calls Out Academy for Snubbing ‘Avengers: Endgame’ for Best Picture.

According to a press release, esteemed auteurs and industry professionals voted to determine the IFFLA Jury Awards, which were given to films and filmmakers in feature and short categories. The Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature went to "Humans in the Loop", directed by Aranya Sahay. Bhushaan Manoj and Suraaj Suman received Honourable Mention for Performance for Rohan Parashuram Kanawade's "Cactus Pears". Rima Das received a Jury Honourable Mention for Direction for "Village Rockstars 2".

The Features Jury comprised actor Rajshri Deshpande, writer-director Priyanka Mattoo, and film critic-journalist Carla Renata. The Grand Jury Prize for Best Short was awarded to Snigdha Kapoor's "Holy Curse", whereas "The Feast" ("Virundhu"), directed by Rishi Chandna, received an Honourable Mention for Cinematic Storytelling. ‘Mission: Impossible–the Final Reckoning’: Tom Cruise’s Starrer Movie Gets Standing Ovation After Its Premiere at Cannes 2025.

"Extinction Story Origin Story", a short directed by Terrie Samundra, was granted an Honourable Mention for Artistic Direction. The short "An Orphanage of Memories", directed by Rayit Hashmat Qazi, was awarded an Honourable Mention for Emotional Storytelling. The Shorts Jury members included film and TV director Maureen Bharoocha, actor-writer Kausar Mohammed, and Sudeep Sharma, Sundance Film Festival programmer.

The 2025 Audience Choice Awards, voted on by IFFLA attendees, went to "Cactus Pears" (feature) and Sunita Prasad's "Sleep Training" (short film).

"Adult Children", a project by Kiana Rawji, won the IFFLA Industry Days Launchpad: Pitch Competition 2025. This year, IFFLA also featured 27 films, including seven narrative features, one documentary feature, 18 shorts, and a special two-episode screening of an anthology series. The festival included two world premieres, six North American premieres, three U S premieres, and 14 Los Angeles premieres.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)