NYFF will screen two major Indian independent films, both newly restored in 4K, in the Revivals section of the 64th New York Film Festival, running September 25 to October 12, 2026. Pradip Krishen’s In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones (1989) and John Abraham’s Report to Mother / Amma Ariyan (1986) will be presented as part of a programme devoted to restored, preserved and digitally remastered works.
The selection gives two landmark works of Indian alternative cinema a significant new international life. In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones will receive its North American premiere, while Report to Mother / Amma Ariyan will have its U.S. premiere at NYFF.
In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones
Directed by Pradip Krishen and written by a then-28-year-old Arundhati Roy, In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones is an English-language portrait of student life in 1970s New Delhi. The film follows Annie, an architecture student caught in a cycle of failing and repeating his studies, while combining humour, political disillusionment and a sharp portrait of youthful idealism.
Roy, who drew on her own university experiences for the screenplay, also appears in the film as Radha, Annie’s independent and nonconformist friend. The film was originally made for television and subsequently circulated largely on VHS, making theatrical screenings exceptionally rare.
The new restoration was carried out in 4K by the Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata, in association with Krishen. It used the best surviving elements: the 16mm original camera and sound negatives preserved at the NFDC-National Film Archive of India, along with a 35mm release print preserved by the Film Heritage Foundation. Funding was provided by the Foundation.
Report to Mother / Amma Ariyan
John Abraham’s final feature, Report to Mother is one of the defining works of Malayalam independent cinema. Made in stark black and white, the 1986 film follows Purushan, played by Joy Mathew, who discovers a dead body while travelling to Delhi and sets out to inform the deceased man’s mother. His journey gradually expands into a collective encounter with the political and social realities of Kerala.
The film was the first production of the Odessa Collective, an alternative filmmaking initiative that raised money by screening films and performing in villages, with the stated aim of creating a people's cinema. Its production and circulation model became an important example of community-supported independent filmmaking in India.
The 4K restoration was undertaken by the Film Heritage Foundation at L’Immagine Ritrovata and Digital Film Restore Pvt. Ltd., in association with the Odessa Collective, with the participation of cinematographer Venu ISC and editor Bina Paul. The restoration was funded by the Film Heritage Foundation and was made from one of only two surviving prints: a first-generation 35mm release print preserved at the NFDC-National Film Archive of India.
A significant moment for Indian film preservation
The inclusion of both films is notable not simply because they are Indian titles, but because of what they represent within Indian cinema. Neither is a conventional catalogue revival. Both belong to the history of independent and alternative filmmaking, and both have survived largely outside the mainstream commercial circulation of Indian cinema.
Annie occupies a distinctive space at the intersection of independent filmmaking, television and literary authorship, while Amma Ariyan emerged from one of India's most radical experiments in community-funded and community-oriented cinema.
Their appearance at NYFF also demonstrates the growing international circulation of Indian restorations. Following recent restoration presentations at major European festivals, these two films are now entering North American repertory circulation through one of the world's most important film festivals.
The 64th New York Film Festival's Revivals programme includes 12 features and two programmes devoted to the films of Armenian filmmaker Artavazd Pelechian. Alongside the two Indian films, the selection includes works by Ken Russell, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Luchino Visconti, Barbara Hammer and Alexander Kluge.
The 64th New York Film Festival runs September 25–October 12, 2026, at Lincoln Center and venues across New York City.
