The annual event will feature more than 240 films from 81 countries, including 13 world premieres, four international premieres, and 46 Asian premieres.
Photo: SNS
Breaking away from the convention of holding opening ceremonies in enclosed spaces, the 56th edition of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will, for the first time, open with a carnival parade featuring production houses, states, and cultural groups through the lanes and bylanes of Panaji, Goa, on 20th November. The annual event will feature more than 240 films from 81 countries, including 13 world premieres, four international premieres, and 46 Asian premieres.
The festival has received a record 2,314 submissions from 127 countries. At a curtain-raiser presser held in the national capital on Friday, Sanjay Jaju, Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, highlighted that Indian cinema is making a strong global impact, with Indian films outperforming Hollywood releases at the Australian box office. “Japan, Spain, and Australia will bring new collaborations to IFFI this year. A larger Film Bazaar will boost international co-productions. While Generative AI is disrupting the entertainment industry, it should be embraced as a creative tool shaping the future of storytelling,” he said.
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Stating that India is both the world’s largest film-making and film-watching nation, celebrating its people’s love for stories, IFFI 2025 Festival Director Shekhar Kapur emphasised that storytelling builds understanding and peace across cultures. Highlighting the Film Bazaar, he called it a movement that empowers young creators through technology. He added that Artificial Intelligence should be seen as a creative tool helping storytellers share India’s stories with the world.
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The opening film for this year is Brazilian auteur Gabriel Mascaro’s THE BLUE TRAIL, a sci-fi and fantasy feature, which follows a 75-year-old woman whose defiant voyage through the Amazon becomes a quiet manifestation of freedom, dignity, and the right to dream. The film won the Silver Bear – Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
The festival will showcase more than 240 films sourced from 81 countries. It also includes 160 films in the International Section, including 13 world premieres. Further, over 80 award-winning festival titles and 21 official Oscar-nominated films will be screened at IFFI 2025.
In total, the festival will present 15 Competitive and Curated segments, including International Competition, Best Debut Feature Film of a Director, ICFT-UNESCO Gandhi Medal, and special segments such as Macabre Dreams, Docu-Montage, Experimental Films, UNICEF, and Restored Classics.
It was also informed that IFFI 2025 will celebrate centenaries and honour legendary filmmakers Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury by showcasing their masterpieces. Salil Chowdhury’s Musafir and Ritwik Ghatak’s Subarnarekha will be shown at IFFI 2025.
Superstar Rajinikanth will also be felicitated at the closing ceremony for completing 50 years of his legendary cinematic journey.
The festival will also feature the Best Debut Director of an Indian Feature Film category, wherein five select debut features will be screened. The award carries a certificate and a cash prize of Rs 5 lakh for the director.
Film enthusiasts can look forward to 21 masterclasses and panel discussions in 10 formats at Kala Academy, featuring luminaries Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupam Kher, Christopher Charles Corbould OBE, Bobby Deol, Aamir Khan, Ravi Varman, Kushboo Sundar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Pete Draper, and Sreekar Prasad, among others. Sessions will range from editing and acting in the digital era to sustainability, Theatre Acting, AI, and VFX technologies.
New panels will address cinema’s role in promoting peace and the challenges of filmmaking. “In Conversation” sessions will feature celebrated artists and filmmakers across industries. Technical sessions will highlight editing, cinematography, VFX, and SFX.
The festival will also screen prominent international award winners and festival favourites, including titles that triumphed at Cannes, Berlinale, Locarno, and Venice.
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