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.

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.

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.

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.

Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Chairman of 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

• 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

• 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

• 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

• Bharatbala Ganapathy, Indian film filmmaker-producer – Chairperson

• R Mahendran, Producer

• Munjal Shroff, Director and Producer

• Rajeshwari Sachdev, Actor

• Sekhar Kumar Das, Writer and Director

The following venues will host the festival screenings.

• Inox Panjim,
• Maquinez Palace
• Inox Porvorim
• Z-Square Samrat Ashok
• Ravindra Bhavan Madgaon
• Open-air screenings
  • Miramar Beach
  • Ravindra Bhavan, Margao
  • Vagator Beach (Helipad)

The opening and closing films of the festival are:

15 feature films will compete for the Golden Peacock award.

This section will feature seven first-time filmmakers from the world of cinema.

10 films are competing for the IFFI ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal:

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.

This section comprises documentaries & docu-drama.

The following films were selected in this section:

The following films were selected in this section:

Japan is nominated as the "Country of Focus" for the festival.

Spain is partner Country of the festival

Rajinikanth, recipient of Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award

The festival concluded with awards ceremony honouring the following awardees:

• Golden Peacock (Best Film): 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 (Season 2) by Anand Tiwari

• Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award: Rajinikanth

• Special Recognition for Contribution to Bharatiya Cinema Award: Nandamuri Balakrishna

• Official website