MUMBAI: The Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival has announced the opening, closing & centerpiece films for its 9th Annual Festival in New York City. Following hot on the success of the 2008 festival, which saw a stellar line up of films and talent including the NY premiere of Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, this year’s opening film is Today’s Special.

Director David Kaplan’s film written by and starring Comedy Central star Aasif Mandvi accompanied by renowned Indian actor Naseerudin Shah as well as author and actor Madhur Jaffrey. Tennis celebrity and media executive Vijay Amritraj will present Santosh Sivan’s Tahaan set in Kashmir, as the Festival Centerpiece. The festival this year packs a bang with the closing film Antaheen – The Endless Wait starring two film luminaries discovered by Satyajit Ray – Sharmila Tagore and Aparna Sen – both of whom will attend this US premiere at the Walter Reade Theatre, Lincoln Center.

MIACC 09 will run from 11 – 15 November, 2009.

Celebrities who will represent these three films at the festival include Aasif Mandvi, Naseeruddin Shah and Madhur Jaffrey; Santosh Sivan, Vijay Amritraj, Aparna Sen, Sharmila Tagore, Kalyan Roy and Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury.

"I am thrilled that Today’s Special will open MIAAC 09. We have seen the film grow from its play reading to its staging with Aasif Mandvi, a long time friend and family member of IAAC. We are thrilled to see its development into film and delighted to present a New York film set in our phenomenal diverse city- home of the MIAAC Film Festival," said IAAC executive director Aroon Shivdasani.