AMERICAS

New York, USA April 3-7 NYC INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL

New York City International Film Festival is known to be one of the most celebrated events for budding and upcoming filmmakers here. It welcomes a large variety of local and foreign filmmakers who specialise in varying genres. It also acts as a platform for worldwide distributors who can share their films at the meet. The festival presents an array of creations, which include short films features and documentary films to name a few. One of the highlights of the festival is that two of the five days are dedicated to presenting Chinese and Latin American films. nyciff.com

Washington DC, USA April 8 onwards SAKURA MATSURI JAPANESE STREET FESTIVAL

The 57-day long street festival is organised by the Japan-America Society of Washington DC. There are various stalls and performances exhibited at this festival that is a symbol of Japanese culture and heritage. You can sample some of these at the Interactive Arts and Culture stalls or devour all kinds of sushi at the food kiosks. There are other merchandise stalls where visiting tourists or locals can buy themselves a Kimono or pick up a box of Royce chocolates to take back home. One of the highlights of this street festival is the “Culinary Arts Pavilion”. It is a great place to learn the art of Japanese tea making, toss, flip and turn Japanese noodles or roll up pieces of sushi. sakuramatsuri.org

Indio, USA April 14-16 COACHELLA VALLEY MUSIC ARTS FESTIVAL

If you’re starstruck for a commercial lineup that often feature on VH1, this is where you should be. The polo fields of Indio in

Southern California turn into one of the most sought after music festival in the world. Not just music, there are large art installations, food kiosks and camping experiences that are anything but basic. Crowds often spot celebrities here too for such is the magnetism of Coachella. It all began when the organisers saw a turn-up of 25,000 fans for a Pearl Jam concert they had once hosted here. The potential lead to the first Coachella festival in 1999 and since then, crowds from world over look forward to it every year. The line up includes Lady Gaga, Lorde, Radiohead, The Avalanches, Whitney and the likes playing everything from pop to rock. coachella.com