The Australian Centre for Indian Cinema (ACIC) has announced the launch of the National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA). It is set to take place across seven Australian cities from February 13 to 16, 2025. This inaugural festival aims to celebrate the rich tapestry of Indian cinema in Australasia.
Filmmaker Anupam Sharma, a renowned expert on Indian cinema, will spearhead the event, with industry veteran Peter Castaldi acting as its festival director. Both Sharma and Castaldi have a deep-rooted history in the Australian film industry and were instrumental in organising some of the earliest Indian film festivals in the country during the 1990s.
NIFFA will feature a weekend-long celebration of Indian cinema, with screenings in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Gold Coast, Darwin, and Hobart. One more city will be announced as the host for the opening night party, workshops, closing night film, and industry panels focused on investment, co-production, development, and collaboration. The festival will also offer development grants for Australian screen content with Indian connections and awards, details of which will be revealed in November.
The festival has garnered support from major Indian film distributors in Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, including Forum Films. Further announcements regarding major partners, brand ambassadors, and retrospectives will be made at a press conference in November during the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, where Australia will be the country of focus. The complete program and award details will be unveiled on January 6th, 2025.
