New York, The BAFTA-winning Manipuri film 'Boong' took home three awards at the just-concluded New York Indian Film Festival, including the best child actor honour for its young protagonist.
The New York Indian Film Festival 2026 concluded its four-day run Sunday with an awards ceremony, honouring the finest in Indian cinema across ten competitive categories.
The festival, held from May 28 to 31, showcased a diverse slate of films across 15 languages, 'underscoring the growing dominance of regional storytelling in contemporary Indian cinema', bringing together filmmakers and artists at North America's longest-running festival dedicated to Indian independent cinema.
'Baksho Bondi' won the festival's top honour, winning Best Film, while Boong, the Manipuri film that created history by winning the prestigious BAFTA award in the Best Children's and Family Film category in February this year, emerged as the biggest winner of the evening with three awards - the Best Debut Film, the Best Director for Lakshmipriya Devi, and the Best Child Actor for Gugun Kipgen.
Nikhil Yadav was named the Best Actor for his performance in 'Vimukt', while Meenakshi Jayan took home the Best Actress award for 'Victoria'. The Best Screenplay honour went to Nikhil Mahajan and Prajakt Deshmukh for 'Tighee'. In the non-fiction categories, 'Deja Vu' won Best Documentary Feature and 'Waai' claimed Best Documentary Short, while 'Jo's Turn' won Best Narrative Short.
The festival concluded with the glittering awards ceremony attended by prominent members of the Indian-American diaspora community, filmmakers and movie enthusiasts.
