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Indian filmmaker launches boutique int'l film fest in NY
The festival kicked off its first live event on Jan. 17 in an intimate, boutique setting of The Producers Club in New York.
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Rwittika Chakraborty
- Wed, 21, Jan 2026
- 02:44 EST
- 15
The inaugural edition of ‘The StoryTeller Universe Film Festival.' / Instagram/@thestoryteller.u
Indian-origin filmmaker and actor Venkat Sai Gunda launched the inaugural edition of ‘The StoryTeller Universe Film Festival,’ a boutique international cinema event in New York City, with the aim of highlighting independent storytellers and innovative cinematic voices from around the world.
The festival kicked off its first live event on Jan. 17 in an intimate, boutique setting of The Producers Club in New York, and it brought together filmmakers, artists, and cinema enthusiasts from several countries for screenings, discussions, and an awards celebration.
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The focus of the event was on authentic, human-centric storytelling, with an emphasis on films that resonate emotionally and creatively rather than conform to mainstream commercial formulas.
The inaugural edition was organized with the support of a team, including Juggy Arora, JD Brookshire, Maheshwarapandiyan Sarvanan, Tarun Degala, Thirumalesh Gundrath, and Prathyusha Vudatha, and showcased a wide range of cinematic forms, from documentaries and experimental works to animated pieces and social-impact films.
Hailing from Karimnagar, Telangana, Gunda moved to New York in 2013 for his Master's degree and initially worked in the tech sector for companies before transitioning to cinema.
Gunda received acclaim and recognition for being the first Telugu individual to produce and star in a lead role in a Hollywood feature film, ‘The Deserving’ (2024), a psychological horror-thriller where he plays a mute serial killer.
The film's trailer alone won 28 international awards, and the feature then received accolades in over 25 festivals, including "Best Horror Film" at the Rome Indie Film Festival.
Gunda has won multiple "Best Actor" awards globally, notably at the Athens International MAF Festival and the 14th Dada Saheb Phalke Awards.
The StoryTeller Universe Film Festival also announced a future update that the 2026 edition will formally include Vertical Storytelling as an official award category.
This emerging format is conceived and crafted specifically for vertical frames rather than repurposed from traditional horizontal formats. It has been gaining traction in markets such as China and India, and is increasingly visible on modern digital platforms.
Discover more at New India Abroad.
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