There’s a special electricity that returns to Goa each November — not just the beaches, but the hum of cameras, the murmur of critics, and the bright flash of red carpets. The 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), running from 20–28 November 2025, promises to be one of the most ambitious editions yet: a global showcase that blends restored classics, world premieres, policy momentum from the WAVES summit, and forward-looking conversations about AI, virtual production and the future of storytelling.

IFFI: Legacy, accreditation and purpose

Established in 1952, IFFI has grown into South Asia’s premier cinematic showcase. It is the only film festival in South Asia accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers’ Associations (FIAPF) in the Competitive Feature Films category. Since its inception the festival’s stated aim has been simple and enduring: to provide a single platform where ambitious filmmakers, cinephiles and industry professionals can access and celebrate the best of international cinema.

Since 2004, Goa has been IFFI’s permanent home. The festival is jointly organised by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), Government of Goa.

What’s on the programme

IFFI 2025 brings together a wide range of programmed highlights and special strands:

• Gala opening and closing ceremonies, daily red-carpet events and celebrations.

• Country Focus (Japan is the official Country of Focus this year), tributes, retrospectives and a dedicated Goan Films’ Section.

• Specially curated international and Indian film packages, including Partner Country — Spain and Spotlight — Australia.

• Workshops, masterclasses, interactive and academic sessions, and panel discussions featuring prominent filmmakers and technicians.

• Film Bazaar (the film market), organised alongside the festival — note: Film Bazaar dates are listed as 20–24 November 2024 in the programme text.

• Special segments such as Macabre Dreams, Docu-Montage, Experimental Films, UNICEF, and Mission LIFE, plus sections for restored classics and AI-powered storytelling labs.

IFFI will present 15 competitive and curated segments, including the International Competition, Best Debut Feature Film of a Director, and the ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal.

Scale and statistics: a record year

IFFI 2025 arrives on the back of impressive numbers that underline its global pull:

• More than 240 films from 81 countries are part of the festival line-up.

• The slate includes 13 world premieres, either 4 or 5 international premieres (reports vary) and 44–46 Asian premieres (both figures appear in festival messaging).

• A record 2,314 film submissions arrived from 127 countries.

• The festival features over 80 award-winning titles, 21 official Oscar-nominated films, and a curated selection of 133 international titles that have already travelled the festival circuit.

• More than 50 women directors have films featured in this year’s edition.

These figures reflect IFFI’s changing identity: not merely a regional showcase but a global discovery engine where award-winning and Oscar-recognised films arrive for Indian audiences.

Opening film and festival highlights

The opening film for IFFI 2025 is The Blue Trail, directed by Brazilian auteur Gabriel Mascaro. A sci-fi fantasy that follows a 75-year-old woman’s defiant journey through the Amazon, the film won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.

IFFI’s international roster includes prominent winners from Cannes, Berlinale, Venice and Locarno, with festival titles such as It Was Just an Accident (Palme d’Or), Father Mother Sister Brother (Golden Lion), Dreams (sex Love) (Golden Bear), Sirat (Grand Jury Prize, Cannes), The Message (Silver Bear), No Other Choice (People’s Choice Award, TIFF), Gloaming in Luomu (Best Film, Busan), and Fiume o Morte (Tiger Award, IFFR).

Country Focus — Japan

Japan is the Country of Focus in 2025. A curated package of six films will present contemporary Japanese cinema across genres — intimate dramas, psychological thrillers, queer cinema, youth sci-fi and lyrical non-linear experiments. Beyond screenings, the Japan focus includes institutional collaborations and cultural showcases designed to deepen India–Japan creative ties.

Honours, tributes and restored classics

IFFI 2025 ties its celebration to history, memory and centenaries:

• Tributes to legendary filmmakers and artists: Guru Dutt, Ritwik Ghatak, Raj Khosla, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury.

• Restored classics such as Salil Chowdhury’s Musafir and Ritwik Ghatak’s Subarnarekha will be screened for new audiences.

• The festival will felicitate Superstar Rajinikanth at the closing ceremony for 50 years in cinema — a marquee, emotional moment for Indian film fans.

Awards and prizes

IFFI’s competitive awards remain substantial and prestigious:

• Golden Peacock — Best Film: Certificate and Rs. 40,00,000.

• Silver Peacock — Best Film: Certificate and Rs. 15,00,000.

• Best Actor (Male): Certificate and Rs. 10,00,000.

• Best Actor (Female): Certificate and Rs. 10,00,000.

• Special Jury Award: Certificate and Rs. 15,00,000.

• Best Debut Feature Film of a Director: Certificate and Rs. 10,00,000.

• Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award: Conferred on master film personalities for outstanding contribution; recent recipients include Carlos Saura (2022), Martin Scorsese (2021), Istvan Szabo (2021) and Vittorio Storato (2020).

• Indian Film Personality of the Year: Past honourees include Chiranjeevi (2022), Hema Malini (2021) and Prasoon Joshi (2021).

Indian Panorama, masterclasses and industry presence

The Indian Panorama will highlight 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and five debut feature films. The Indian Panorama feature opening film is Amaran (Tamil), while the opening non-feature film is Kakori.

Masterclasses and sessions, led by high-profile names such as Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, Ravi Varman, Bobby Deol, Suhasini Maniratnam, Kushboo Sundar, Pete Draper, Sreekar Prasad, and Christopher Charles Corbould, are part of the learning and networking fabric of this year’s festival.

Technology, AI and festival strategy

IFFI 2025 arrives in the wake of India’s first Worldwide Audio-Visual Entertainment Summit (WAVES) — a policy and industry milestone that reframed how India positions itself in global entertainment. Festival officials and industry leaders are carrying that momentum into Goa: AI is being discussed not as a threat but as a creative tool.

Statements from officials underscore that shift. Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L. Murugan announced the submission statistics and scale of the festival. Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, noted that generative AI should be embraced as a creative tool shaping the future of storytelling; festival director Shekhar Kapur echoed that AI can help storytellers take India’s narratives to the world.

IFFI’s programming includes AI-powered storytelling labs, virtual production showcases, and ethical conversations on tech — an explicit signal that the festival intends to be future-facing as well as celebratory.

Controversy: Indian Panorama jury composition

Not all the buzz has been celebratory. IFFI faced criticism online after it unveiled an all-male jury for the Indian Panorama — Feature Films section. The jury is chaired by Raja Bundela and includes members Krishna Hebbale, Kamlesh K Mishra, Malay Ray, Subhash Sehgal, Jadumoni Dutta, Aroon Baksi, Asim Sinha, Ashok Sharan, Sukumar Jatania, BS Basavaraju, Amaresh Chakrabarti, and Napoleon Thanga. Social media users called out the absence of women on the panel, calling it a “manel” and questioning why women filmmakers were excluded despite strong female representation in the festival’s line-up.

Why IFFI 2025 matters

At its best, IFFI is both an archive and an incubator: it preserves cinema’s past through restored classics and centenary tributes while opening doors for the new — debut features, experimental works, and tech-forward storytelling. This edition’s scale (over 240 films, submissions from 127 countries), its cross-cultural programming (Japan focus; partner packages from Spain and Australia), and its tech-forward agenda make it a festival that looks backward with respect and forward with ambition.

IFFI 2025 is, in many ways, an illustration of India’s evolving cinematic identity: rooted in a deep history of storytelling, receptive to new technologies, and increasingly confident on the global stage. Come November, Goa will once again be a place where frames become conversations, premieres become discoveries, and where a global audience gathers — in the darkness of screening halls and under the glare of red carpets — to remember why cinema matters.

A celebration where cinema transcends borders and emotions find their voice: the 56th International Film Festival of India promises premieres, restored classics, tributes, debates on AI, and a showcase of the world’s finest cinema — all under the Goan sun, 20–28 November 2025.

With inputs from agencies

Image Source: Multiple agencies

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