56th International Film Festival of India
The 56th International Film Festival of India took place from 20 to 28 November 2025 at Panaji, Goa. In place of its customary indoor stadium launch, the opening ceremony was presented this year as a carnival parade. The festival opened with the screening of 2025 dystopian drama film The Blue Trail by Gabriel Mascaro. Indian film director and screenwriter Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra served as the chairperson of the International Jury. The festival presented more than 240 films from 81 countries, including 13 world premieres, 5 international premieres and 44 Asian premieres.
Japan was designated as the 'Country of Focus' at the festival, and it will present six curated titles. In addition Spain will be the Partner Country, with Australia as the Spotlight Country. The festival also celebrated centenaries and honoured cinematic legends such as Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury with special retrospectives of their works.
The closing ceremony on 28 November featured a felicitation of actor Rajinikanth, recognizing his contributions to cinema over the past five decades. The festival concluded with the announcement of various awards. Golden Peacock for the best feature film was won by the Vietnamese transgender sex romance film Skin of Youth by Ash Mayfair. A Useful Ghost, a Thai supernatural black comedy-drama by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke was screened as the closing film of the festival.
Overview
The 56th edition of the festival showcased 15 curated and competitive sections, including International Competition, Best Debut Feature Film, and the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal. Special categories included featured categories viz: Macabre Dreams, Docu-Montage, Experimental cinema, UNICEF-supported films, and Restored classics. The Gala Premieres section included 18 films, featuring 13 world premieres and two Asia premieres. The Indian Panorama presented 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and five debut features. More than 50 films by women directors and over 50 debut works were shown in the international lineup. The festival also hosted 21 masterclasses.Opening and closing ceremonies
Opening ceremony
For the first time in its history, the festival, departing from the tradition of hosting opening ceremony in enclosed venue. commenced with a carnival 26-float parade on 20 November 2025. It featured floats from production houses, state representatives, cultural groups, cinematic heritage and the world of animation. The parade proceeded through the lanes and alleyways of Panaji, Goa, reminiscent of its carnival. Indian actor, film producer Nandamuri Balakrishna was felicitated at the parade for his outstanding contribution to Indian cinema.Closing ceremony
The festival ended with a vibrant display of India’s cultural diversity, featuring folk traditions, classical dances from different regions, and performances by divyang artists. It concluded with the announcement of the awards and the screening of the Thai film A Useful Ghost, directed by Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke.Jury
International Jury
- Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Indian film director, occasional actor and screenwriter, Chairperson
- Graeme Clifford, Australian film director
- Remi Adefarasin, English cinematographer
- Katharina Schüttler, German television and film actress
- Chandran Rutnam, Sri Lankan filmmaker and entrepreneur
ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal jury
- Ahmed Bedjaoui, artistic director of the International Film Festival of Algiers, chairperson
- Xueyan Hun, Platform for Creativity and Innovation, CICT-ICFT youth branch
- Serge Michel, vice president of UNICA;
- Tobias Biancone, former director-general of the International Theatre Institute
- Georges Dupont, director-general of ICFT and former senior international civil servant at UNESCO
Feature film jury
- Raja Bundela, Indian actor, producer, politician and civil activist, chairperson
- Malay Ray, Cinematographer
- Subhash Sehgal, film editor
- Jadumani Dutta, filmmaker
- Krishna Hebbal, actor
- Kamlesh K Mishra, filmmaker
- Arun Bakshi, actor, singer
- Asim Sinha, actor
- Ashok Sharan, producer
- Sukumar Jatania, cinematographer
- B S Basavaraju, cinematographer
Non-feature film jury
- Dharam Gulati, Cinematographer, chairperson
- Anjali Panjabi, Filmmaker & Producer
- Bobby Sarma Baruah, Filmmaker
- Rekha Gupta, Film Critic and Film Curator
- Ashok Cashyap, Film Producer, Filmmaker and Cinematographer
- A. Karthik Raaja, Cinematographer
- Jyotsana Garg, Filmmaker
Web Series jury
- Bharatbala Ganapathy, Indian film filmmaker-producer – Chairperson
- R Mahendran, Producer
- Munjal Shroff, Director and Producer
- Rajeshwari Sachdev, Actor
- Sekhar Kumar Das, Writer and Director
Screening venues
- Inox Panjim,
- Maquinez Palace
- Inox Porvorim
- Z-Square Samrat Ashok
- Ravindra Bhavan Madgaon
- Open-air screenings
- * Miramar Beach
- * Ravindra Bhavan, Margao
- * Vagator Beach
Official selection
Opening midfest and closing films
The opening and closing films of the festival are:International competition
15 feature films will compete for the Golden Peacock award.Best Debut Feature Film of a Director
This section will feature seven first-time filmmakers from the world of cinema.ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal
10 films are competing for the IFFI ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal:From The Festivals - 2025
Indian Panorama
In Indian Panorama feature and non-feature films of cinematic, thematic, and aesthetic excellence are selected for the promotion of film art through the non-profit screening of these films under different categories.Feature films
Mainstream Cinema Section
| Title of the Film | Language | Director | Producer |
| Ata Thambaycha Naay! | Marathi | Shivraj Waichal | Chalk and Cheese Films |
| Chhaava | Hindi | Laxman Utekar | Maddock Films |
| Sikaar | Assamese | Debangkar Borgohain | Unicorn Motion Pictures |
| Sankranthiki Vasthunam | Telugu | Anil Ravipudi | Sri Venkateswara Creations |
| Thudarum | Malayalam | Tharun Moorthy | Rejaputhra Visual Media |
Non-feature Films
Best Debut Director
Best Web Series OTT
Docu–Montage
This section comprises documentaries & docu-drama.Experimental Films – 2025
Rising Stars
Cinema of the World
The following films were selected in this section:Gala Premiere
The following films were selected in this section:Mission Life
| English title | Original title | Director | Production countrie |
| Better Go Mad in the Wild | Raději zešílet v divočině | Miro Remo | Czech Republic, Slovakia |
| The Botanist | 植物学家 | Jing Yi | China |
| Hair, Paper, Water... | Tóc, Giấy và Nước | Nicolas Graux and Minh Quý Trương | 'Belgium, France, Vietnam |
| Hen | Kota | György Pálfi | Germany, Greece, Hungary |
| The Memory of Butterflies | La memoria de las mariposas | Tatiana Fuentes Sadowski | Peru, Portugal |
| Silent Friend | Stille Freundin | Ildikó Enyedi | Germany, France, Hungary |
Macabre Dreams
UNICEF @ IFFI
| English title | Original title | Director | Production countrie |
| The Beetle Project | Jin Kwang-kyo | South Korea | |
| Happy Birthday | هابي بيرث داي | Sarah Goher | Egypt |
| The Odyssey of Joy | Odiseja e Gëzimit | Zgjim Terziqi | Kosovo, France |
Restored classics
Special Presentation
Country of focus
is nominated as the "Country of Focus" for the festival.| English title | Original title | Director | Production countrie |
| A Pale View of Hills | 遠い山なみの光 | Kei Ishikawa | Japan, United Kingdom, Poland |
| Dear Stranger | Tetsuya Mariko | Japan, United States, Taiwan | |
| Catching the Stars of This Summer | この夏の星を見る | Tsujimura Mizuki | Japan |
| Seaside Serendipity | 海辺へ行く道 | Satoko Yokohama | Japan |
| Tiger | Taiga | Anshul Chauhan | Japan |
| Two Seasons, Two Strangers | 旅と日々 | Sho Miyake | Japan |
Partner Country (Spain) - 2025
Spain is partner Country of the festivalAwards and winners
The festival concluded with awards ceremony honouring the following awardees:- Golden Peacock : Skin of Youth by Ash Mayfair, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan
- Best Director: Santosh Davakhar for Gondhal, India
- Best Actor: Ubeimar Rios for A Poet
- Best Actress: Jara Sofija Ostan for Little Trouble Girls
- Best Debut Film of a Director:
- * Hesam Farahmand for My Daughter’s Hair
- * Tõnis Pill for Fränk
- Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film: Karan Singh Tyagi for Kesari Chapter 2
- Special Jury Award: My Father's Shadow by Akinola Davies Jr., United Kingdom, Ireland, Nigeria
- ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal: Safe House by Eirik Svensson, Norway
- Best Web Series Award: Bandish Bandits by Anand Tiwari
- Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award: Rajinikanth
- Special Recognition for Contribution to Bharatiya Cinema Award: Nandamuri Balakrishna