An Indian Summer is taking over Leicester's Cultural Quarter from 9th - 11th August!
The theme and vision for the festival this year is ‘We Gather’
An Indian Summer was born to share the sights, sounds and wonders of South Asia in the heart of Britain. Their mission is to celebrate the shared culture between the Indian subcontinent and the UK - nurturing exciting artistic collaborations and educating people from all walks of life about the past, present and future of our global community. Established in 2011, the festival has constantly pushed the boundaries of contemporary South Asian Mela.
An Indian Summer Festival nurtures and platforms the breadth and intersectionality of contemporary South Asian arts and creativity.
This year, An Indian Summer festival has been through some exciting developments including a rebrand, logo change, and a refining of their vision and values. The festival is expanding on it's previous successes to spread across 7 venues, including Curve Theatre, Phoenix, LCB Depot, Chutney Ivy, Sixes, The Real Ale Classroom and Brick & Beam.
The festival programme includes live performances, workshops, immersive experiences and exhibitions, bringing you an electric fusion of contemporary South Asian arts, creativity and culture.
During An Indian Summer festival there will be creative workshops for people of all ages, storytelling, a wellbeing zone, outdoor street cricket, spoken word, sizzling street food from Bangladesh and a festival after party. Indian Summer will also welcome world class musicians, Abi Sampa, Rushil Ranjan and Arun Ghosh to the festival’s live music programme this year. An Indian Summer will then close with a relaxed film screening at Phoenix.
Films Screening at An Indian Summer
An Indian Summer starts with a Bollywood blockbuster outdoor cinema screening of Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahani (2023) on Jubilee Square.
When Rocky is introduced to Rani Chatterjee (Alia Bhatt) – an educated, strong-willed and cultured Bengali journalist, they instantly hit it off. Over time their love grows and so do the cultural differences between their families. They are constantly put through trials and tests, however, despite their small victories, their never-ending differences determine whether or not their relationship will survive.
Rocky Aur Rani Ki Prem Kahaani is a rollercoaster journey taking you through an epic old-age love story in a new-age era, posing questions about love, family and the meaning of breaking away from generations of family traditions in the name of love.
About Inspirate
"Within a world that is currently fragmented and divided, we invite you to be the antidote, to Gather and proactively build a sense of Community."
Established in 2011, Inspirate has delivered a plethora of outdoor events, from digital art installations, to
touring performances and large cultural festivals. Inspirate organise An Indian Summer festival weekend and community events during the year.
Inspirate have received funding from Film Hub Midlands through the Film Exhibition Fund to continue their work opening access to new and diverse films and reflecting the demographic and people in Leicester. This year they intend to expand outside of the city centre, delivering screenings in Belgrave, Highfields and St Matthews. All three of these locations have been identified as having a high population of South Asian people and are some of the lowest areas of poverty in Leicester.
Expanding beyond the festival weekend Inspirate will be screening Hindi film, ‘Lagaan’ in September at Belgrave Library, Sabarmati Sheltered Housing and Highfields Community Centre.
The second round of our Film Exhibition Fund is currently open and available for Film Hub Members to send in proposals. The deadline for proposals is Friday 30th August 2024.