You might expect to find a cinematic event called theYellowstone International Film Festivalin the northwest corner of Wyoming.
But youd be off by about seven thousand miles.
Particularly for the 2024 edition you have an impressive and diverse lineup of nonfiction films in the program.
Bollywood Star Divya Dutta (center) attends YIFFYIFF
Tell us about these films and the curatorial process.
Tushar Tyagi: Thank you for your kind words.
I never thought wed be able to get these kind of films.
There is this brilliant documentary from Australia calledThe Blind Sea.
Its about a surfer whos visually impaired.
In India there isnt much of a surfing culture.
The film is doing great in the festival circuit.
Our programming process is long and thorough.
We have industry professionals as our screening committee members from across the globe watching the submitted films year-round.
This year the festival had 2,490 submissions under various categories.
Approximately 200 films that score an average of 7 and above are considered for the official selection program.
Simultaneously, the jury members also vote for the awards from the final 127 films.
DEADLINE:You have a good domestic and international programming lineup.
What are some of the films you are excited about this year?
TT: There are a number of films in the program we are very excited about.
TT: I studied filmmaking in New York but nobody in my family is in film.
So, when I graduated, it took me a substantial amount of time to find my footing.
My film [Saving Chintu] traveled to a lot of festivals.
It changed my trajectory and my journey, and gave me resources as an indie filmmaker.
It took me a couple of years to put the team together.
We wanted to test waters and it went really well.
In 2020, we had the very first year, and now we are in the fifth year.
So, using this experience [of mine], we are trying to bridge these gaps at Yellowstone.
TT: I would definitely say its passion and dedication.
Surprisingly enough, there is a huge indie film-loving community in Delhi and in India.
DEADLINE:Why did you name the film festival Yellowstone?
TT: I lived in America for about a decade, and I just love it there.
I always wanted to start a production company by this name.
DEADLINE:What are your future plans to give a platform to both documentary and narrative storytellers from India?
And hopefully in next five years well hit the mark of having a market at Yellowstone.
