US briefs: 'Visaaranai' and 'Parched' prevail at 14th IFFLA

Visaaranai and Parched were awarded top feature film honours as the 14th Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles came to a close at the weekend.

Visaaranai (Interrogation) was awarded the grand jury prize for best feature and the corresponding short film award went to Playgrounds.

Sanjay Mishra was presented with the best actor award for his performance in Masaan, and the best actress award honoured the cast of Parched, namely Tannishtha Chatterjee, Radhika Apte, Surveen Chawla, and Lehar Khan.

IFFLA Audience awards went to Parched, and Daaravtha (The Threshold). For more information click here.

• FilmRise has acquired US rights from CAA to Elizabeth Wood’s Sundance selection White Girl starring Morgan Saylor and Brian Marc. Killer Films’ Christine Vachon is executive producer and the film will open theatrically in late summer / early autumn.
• Italian opera promoter All’Opera has struck a US distribution deal with  Abramorama. The 2015/16 season will offer operas by Rossini, Puccini, Verdi, and Donizetti.
• Open Road Films will release The Nut Job 2 on May 19, 2017. Will Arnett and Katherine Heigl lead the voice cast with Maya Rudolph, Gabriel Iglesias, and Jeff Dunham.
• Jesse Eisenberg will receive the CinemaCon Male Star Of The Year Award at the Las Vegas event on April 14. Eisenberg stars as Lex Luthor in Batman v Superman: Dawn Of Justice and will next appear in June 10 release Now You See Me 2.
• Allure and its Christie Experiential Network have brought on theatrical distribution executive Brett Resnick as vice-president of studio relations.
• Backed by Screen Australia, Australians In Film on Monday launched Mentor LA. The initiative will match four early-to-mid-level practitioners who currently work in the Australian industry with dedicated mentors who work in the US and include producer Bruna Papandrea, and film-maker Stuart Beattie.
• Regal Cinemas and AMC Theatres on Monday announced a partnership with Atom Tickets, a theatrical mobile ticketing platform and app backed by The Walt Disney Company, 20th Century Fox and Lionsgate. The free app is available in select Canadian markets and launches in the US this summer.