Our Bureau
New York, NY
The world premiere of Hello Dad, a deeply personal short film written and directed by award-winning filmmaker Neha Lohia, starring Emmy-nominated actor Tirlok Malik and Swiss actress Ankita Makwana, premiered to a packed and emotionally moved audience at the prestigious Big Apple Film Festival as part of its Women Filmmakers Showcase featuring eight films directed by women storytellers from around the world.
What unfolded inside the historic Village East by Angelika became far more than a film screening. It evolved into an intimate collective experience around grief, love, memory, healing, and the enduring bond between parents and children.
Friends, artists, doctors, researchers, grief experts, filmmakers, authors, actors, models, influencers, and community leaders gathered from across New York and beyond. Several guests traveled from Boston, Virginia, Canada, and other cities, with some changing travel plans or making special arrangements and stopovers in New York just to attend this screening. Others arrived unannounced to surprise the filmmaker.
The film’s emotional resonance sparked broader conversations around mental health, emotional regulation, vulnerability, and healing. Audience members reflected on the possibility that true healing may begin not by denying brokenness, but by gently acknowledging and carrying it honestly.
The audience ranged from Gen Z viewers to older generations, including mother-daughter duos and individuals carrying their own personal experiences with loss. Throughout the evening, tears, silence, hugs, reflection, and deeply emotional conversations filled the room.
Described by attendees as “delicate realism,” Hello Dad resonated for its gentle and deeply human portrayal of grief; not as something to “fix” or “move on” from, but as something that can coexist with life, memory, love, ambition, work, and healing.
The film stars Emmy-nominated actor Tirlok Malik alongside actress Ankita Makwana in deeply intimate performances that audiences praised for their tenderness, restraint, and emotional honesty. Malik, known for his acclaimed body of work exploring loneliness, aging, immigration, and Indian diaspora experiences, brings quiet emotional depth to the role, while Makwana’s nuanced performance anchors the film’s emotional journey with sincerity and grace.
Philanthropist Krisztina Geosits described the film as “extremely beautiful” and reflected that it “captured the deeply human moments that are broadly unspoken.” Men in the audience, including Goodnews Networks, Rev. Paul Sladkus, and CNN’s Eduardo Salazar Uribe, shared that the film left them deeply moved, with “lumps in their throat” and moments which made them reflect on their own losses, and words simply would not come.
Several women close to Lohia, including the founder of Women Funding the World, Jody Weiss, Dr. Anna Suponya, and spiritual teacher Aleta St. James, later sent emotional voice notes reflecting on the experience and the memories the film stirred within them, and the work that lies ahead of us as a collective.
Singer Domini Monroe attended the premiere with her mother and shared reflections on losing her own father and how deeply real and familiar the film felt to their lived experience. “I still call or text his phone” – Mrs. Monroe. “This helped me feel more connected to Dad,” said Domini
During the post-screening Q&A, Neha took courage and shared her inspiration behind this short film was her own lived experience of losing her father and how, even 18 years later, grief has been constantly coexisting with life. Her vulnerability created a deeply emotional exchange with audiences, many of whom stayed long after the screening ended to share their own stories, reflections, and experiences with loss.
“People often feel pressured to let go,” Lohia shared during conversations around the film. “But perhaps healing is not about letting go; there is no need to erase memories, find replacements for love, or forget those we lost. Perhaps it is learning how to continue the journey while carrying their presence differently, and coexisting with it.”
Several audience members privately shared with Lohia that they, too, were living with silent grief after losing a parent or loved one, and that Hello Dad made them feel seen in ways they had not experienced before. Conversations throughout the night repeatedly returned to one idea: grief does not always disappear, and perhaps there is no need to force it to. Many reflected on the importance of normalizing the coexistence of grief with everyday life, rather than masking, hiding, or performing emotional perfection.
Adding to the emotional atmosphere of the evening, Lohia personally handed audience members handmade miniature envelopes carrying tiny “love notes” sealed with the words “Undying Love.” Inside each envelope was a small handwritten message intended as a keepsake and quiet reminder of love, connection, and remembrance. Guests deeply appreciated the gesture, many carrying the notes home as mementos from the night.
At the heart of the film is a simple but profound reminder: call the people you love while they are still here. Express love openly. Do not wait for a perfect moment.
In the weeks leading up to the premiere, Hello Dad quietly evolved into a larger cultural and emotional conversation through a series of pre-launch collaborations, talks, and social campaigns involving creators, mental health experts, authors, and thought leaders. Influencers and audiences participated in the viral “Hello Dad…” campaign, sharing messages they wished to say to their fathers and loved ones.
The film’s extended conversation around grief, emotional well-being, and coexistence with loss included collaborations and discussions with world-renowned psychiatrist Dr. Anna Yusim, resilience expert and physician Dr. Eva Selhub, author Kelly Ann Krzeczkowski, holistic practitioner Dr. Jason Yuan, and podcaster and founder of Brown Girl Interrupting, Marya Kazmi.
Together, these conversations explored new ways of understanding grief, emotional regulation, mental health, healing, and the possibility of carrying loss with tenderness rather than shame.
Guests attending the premiere also included actress Despina Mirou, singers Ashley Bautista, influencer Melissa Gallagher, Christine Mendes, Dr. Shweta Parmar, filmmakers, artists, industry professionals, and members of New York’s creative, healing, and art communities.
More than a film premiere, Hello Dad marked the beginning of a broader conversation about parental love, grief, emotional honesty, and healing in community. The project is expected to continue its festival journey while exploring future possibilities for expanded conversations, screenings, and potentially a broader father-daughter series by neha centered around love, loss, and learning how to live meaningfully while carrying both.
As messages, calls, conversations, and reflections continue pouring in days after the premiere, Hello Dad has become more than a short film. It has become a gentle invitation for people to speak the words they still carry in their hearts, while there is still time.
About Neha Lohia: Neha Lohia is an award-winning filmmaker and curator based in New York. Her work spans cinema, immersive media, and conscious cultural programming, exploring the intersection of storytelling, human experience, and intentional creation. She is currently completing her studies in emerging technologies in filmmaking at CUNY while developing projects across film, virtual reality, and cross-disciplinary platforms. For more information visit www.nehalohia.com and for Hello Dad trailer visit www.nehalohia.com/films/hello-dad. Music available on all platforms.
