Goa Gears Up For IFFI 2025 With Japan As Country Of Focus; Global Line-up Unveiled

Hyderabad: Goa is set to host 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) from November 20 to November 28, 2025. The festival promises a grand celebration of world cinema with over 240 films from 81 countries.

Japan has been announced as the 'Country of Focus', with six specially curated films representing the country's evolving cinematic style. Spain will be the 'Partner Country' while Australia takes the spot as 'Spotlight Country'. IFFI 2025 will showcase 13 world premieres, five international premieres and 44 Asian premieres. The festival will host three international competitions featuring 32 films from five continents.

Audiences can look forward to top award-winning titles such as South Korea's No Other Choice, Cannes Palme d'Or winner It Was Just An Accident, Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother, Berlin Silver Bear winner The Message, and Sentimental Value by Joachim Trier. This year, the festival received a record 2,314 submissions from 127 countries, including over 1,000 entries from India in 18 different languages.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said, "IFFI 2025 celebrates inclusivity and diversity. It brings stories from across the world and showcases India's rich regional cinema. The festival is also nurturing young talent and embracing digital storytelling." The opening film will be Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro's The Blue Trail, a sci-fi fantasy about a 75-year-old woman's journey through the Amazon. The film earlier won the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival.

The Gala Premieres section will present 18 major films, including 13 world premieres and two Asia premieres. The International Section will feature more than 160 films, including 21 Oscar-nominated titles. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra will head the international competition jury. IFFI 2025 will have nine curated sections including Docu-Montage, Restored Classics, Macabre Dreams, Cinema of the World, UNICEF, and Rising Stars.

The festival will also host 21 masterclasses and panel discussions at Kala Academy. Noted names like Aamir Khan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupam Kher, Bobby Deol, Ravi Varman, Kushboo Sundar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Pete Draper, Sreekar Prasad, and Christopher Charles Corbould OBE will also be present.

Topics will range from acting in the digital era to AI, VFX, sustainability, and cinema's role in peacebuilding. IFFI 2025 will mark the centenaries of legends like Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury, with screenings of restored classics.

The Indian Panorama will showcase 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and five debut features. Rajkumar Periyasamy's Tamil film Amaran, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi, will open the feature category. The non-feature section opens with Kakori.

The Women in Cinema and Emerging Voices segments will spotlight inclusivity, featuring over 100 films directed by women and debut filmmakers. The Waves Film Bazaar, now in its 19th year, will feature 300 projects, including 22 features and 5 documentaries in the co-production market. Winners will receive USD 20,000 in grants.

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