Festivities began for the 12th Annual Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) in Los Angeles Tuesday evening. Widely recognized as the premiere showcase of groundbreaking Indian cinema globally, the festival is holding court at the ArcLight Hollywood. The six-day fest brings the two largest entertainment industries in the world – Hollywood and India.

"Jadoo" will close out the festival on April 13

The festival will showcase more than 35 films from or about India, host the highly anticipated opening and closing red carpet galas and an awards ceremony, bring back the wildly popular “Bollywood by Night” series, and feature live music and dance performances.

IFFLA 2014 is presenting 33 films, including three world premieres, six North American premieres, six U.S. premieres, and 16 Los Angeles premieres. These films feature 10 different languages, from Hindi to Marathi, to Russian to Bengali. Additionally, IFFLA supports American, Australian, British, Canadian, and European diaspora filmmakers from nine different countries telling their stories.

The festival opened with Jeffrey D. Brown’s "Sold", produced by Jane Charles, and executive produced by Emma Thompson. The festival will close with comedy film "Jadoo" written and directed by IFFLA alum Amit Gupta.

"Jadoo", which debuted at the 2013 Berlinale, features an ensemble cast that includes Kulvinder Ghir, Amara Karan, Harish Patel, Tom Mison, and Madhur Jaffrey. The red-carpet screening will be followed by an exclusive after-party at Nirvana-Bombay Palace in Beverly Hills.

“I’m thrilled and proud that IFFLA’s line-up this year includes an especially diverse range of cinematic experiences, covering many regions of India and the diaspora,” said IFFLA’s Artistic Director Jasmine Jaisinghani. “We would like to thank our Programming Advisor in India, Uma Da Cunha, for helping our programming team source some of these exceptional films.”

One such film is "Fandry", a 2013 Indian Marathi language film, written and directed by Nagraj Manjule in a directorial debut. Starring Somnath Avghade and Rajshree Kharat as the film leads, "Fandry" won the Grand Jury Prize at the Mumbai International Film Festival.

The 3rd annual Rukus Avenue party at IFFLA will take things up a notch at TRU Hollywood on Thursday. The party lineup includes soulful singer/songwriter Raghav and noted music tastemaker and KCRW DJ, Garth Trinidad. Organizers are promising a vibrant night of fun, culture and entertainment.

This Friday and Saturday, Indian dance and music will be uniquelyon display. South Asian record label Rukus Avenue will present IFFLA’s Rhythm Village program, transforming ArcLight’s Courtyard into a vibrant space with live performances celebrating the relationship between music and cinema.

IFFLA is a nonprofit organization devoted to a greater appreciation of Indian cinema and culture by showcasing films, honoring entertainment industry business executives, and promoting the diverse perspectives of the Indian diaspora. Galas, live music, and dance performances, and dozens of films are the highlight of IFFLA's week long programming.

Find out more and purchase tickets at www.indianfilmfestival.org.

Watch trailers for IFFLA selected films here.

Reach Arts and Culture Editor Ashley Riegle by email. Follow her on Twitter.