PANAJI: Japan has been announced as the 'Country of Focus' at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), set to take place in Goa from November 20 to 28, 2025.
The festival will bring together cinema from around the world, showcasing over 240 films from 81 countries, including acclaimed international premieres, award-winning titles, and specially curated Japanese films that highlight the nation’s evolving cinematic style.
Spain has been named the ‘Partner Country’ and Australia the ‘Spotlight Country’. IFFI 2025 will feature 13 world premieres, five international premieres, and 44 Asian premieres, along with three international competitions presenting 32 films from five continents.
Audiences can look forward to top award-winning films, including 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. The festival received a record 2,314 submissions from 127 countries, including more than 1,000 entries from India in 18 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 festival will open with 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 previously 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, while the International Section will feature over 160 films, including 21 Oscar-nominated titles. Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra will head the international competition jury.
IFFI 2025 will also present nine curated sections, including Docu-Montage, Restored Classics, Macabre Dreams, Cinema of the World, UNICEF, and Rising Stars. The festival will host 21 masterclasses and panel discussions at Kala Academy, with participation from noted personalities including Aamir Khan, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupam Kher, Bobby Deol, Ravi Varman, Kushboo Sundar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Pete Draper, Sreekar Prasad, and Christopher Charles Corbould OBE. Discussions will cover acting in the digital era, AI, VFX, sustainability, and cinema’s role in peacebuilding.
IFFI 2025 will also commemorate the centenaries of legends such as Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury, screening restored classics in their honor.
The Indian Panorama will feature 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, while the non-feature section begins with Kakori.
The Women in Cinema and Emerging Voices segments will spotlight inclusivity, showcasing over 100 films by women and debut filmmakers. The 19th edition of the Waves Film Bazaar will present 300 projects, including 22 features and five documentaries, with winners receiving USD 20,000 in grants.
