The National Indian Film Festival of Australia is screening restored versions of classic Indian films in over 14 locations in Australia, which include outback communities and regional locations. The move is billed as a major cultural initiative which looks to take Indian cinema beyond the Asian subcontinent.
The festival roster includes movies such as In Which Annie Gives It Those Ones and Manthan. According to the festival, the initiative provides audiences with a rare chance to explore films that have contributed significantly towards shaping India's cinematic and cultural history. It is part of a broader change in the cultural engagement between Australian and Indian cinema.
Founded by filmmaker Anupam Sharma and a group of Indian and Australian film personalities, including Farabee Kabir and Raunak Dhupar, the National Indian Film Festival of Australia has become Australia's sole national showcase devoted to Indian films. In its first few editions, NIFFA screened over 30 films, including Australian premieres, in 15 languages, taking these to viewers beyond conventional metropolitan areas.
According to the festival, its expansion to regional Australia signifies its evolution, which challenges long-held assumptions regarding who international cinema is meant for and where it belongs. Speaking about it, Anupam Sharma said, “This is about access and inclusion at a national level. Thanks to Shivendra and the Film Heritage Foundation. We’re taking stories that have defined generations and sharing them with audiences who may never have had the opportunity to experience them on the big screen, whether in Sydney or in the heart of regional Australia in Broken Hill or the centre of Australia in Alice Springs.”
NIFFA and the Film Heritage Foundation's collaboration ensures that the movies are preserved and experienced in the form they are intended: accompanied by an audience and on big screens.
The Film Heritage Foundation's Shivendra Singh Dungarpur said, "Restoration is not just about saving films; it is about restoring memory, identity, and cultural continuity. Through these screenings by NIFFA, we are taking these stories beyond archives and into living, breathing audiences across Australia, with historic inroads in the outback, where they can inspire, provoke, and endure." He added, "At Film Heritage Foundation, our mission has always been to rescue and revive India’s cinematic heritage. But preservation alone is not enough, these films must be seen, discussed, and rediscovered by new generations."