The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of the film art; contributing to the understanding and appreciation of film cultures of different nations in the context of their social and cultural ethos, and promoting friendship and cooperation among people of the world. The festival is conducted jointly by the National Film Development Corporation of India and the state Government of Goa.
Utpal Borpujari is a double National Film Award winner; one, as a film critic, and the other, as a filmmaker. In 2003, he won the Swarna Kamal for Best Film Critic at the 50th National Film Awards of India. In 2018, he won the National Film Award, and 5 Assam State Film Awards for his debut feature film Ishu
The 48th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 28 November 2017 in Goa. "Celebrating the Future of Cinema" was set as the festival's theme and registrations were opened in early October 2017.
Mahesh Narayanan is an Indian film director, screenwriter, editor and cinematographer who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema, he has also worked in Tamil and Hindi films. He is a recipient of the Kerala State Film Award for Best Debut Director (2017) and Kerala State Film Award for Best Director (2022).
The 46th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 30 November 2015 in Goa. The International Jury was headed by the chairperson, Shekhar Kapur along with UK based director, Micheal Radford, Palestinian based Israel director, Ms. Suha Arraf, German Actress, Julia Jentsch and South Korean filmmaker Jeon Kyu-Hwan. The 13-member Feature Jury was headed by Chairperson, Aribam Syam Sharma, while the 7-member Non-Feature jury was led by Chairperson, Rajendra Janglay.
The 44th International Film Festival of India was held on 20 to 30 November 2013 in Goa.
The 42nd International Film Festival of India was held on 23 to 30 November 2011 in Goa. The International competition (Feature) was chaired by Adoor Gopalakrishnan, and Short film competition was chaired by Basu Bhattacharya. For the first time the 42d IFFI had launched its own poster with a depiction of fest motif "Peacock", made as a "dancing peacock" by veteran film design and art consultant Thotta Tharani. The IFFI signature film was conceptualized by veteran film maker Shaji Karun. New sections such as “Kaleidoscope”, 3 D, Animation, European discoveries, Master Classes and Russian Classics were included, along with the inaugural Best Director Award. Indian actor Shah Rukh Khan was the chief guest for the festival.
The 4th International Film Festival of India was held from 5th to 18 December 1969 in New Delhi's hotel "Ashoka Convention Hall". 34 countries participated in the "4th IFFI" inaugurated by the then President of India V. V. Giri. The honors were classified under three sections - films as art, films as communication, and special short films from this edition featuring a total of 151 films. A nine member jury was chaired by Raj Kapoor, R. K. Narayan, and Swedish filmmaker Mai Zetterling.
The 35th International Film Festival of India was held from November 29 - December 9 2004 in Goa. The edition is the first globally competitive edition with a permanent venue at Goa. The "Beach Screening" section of Hollywood blockbusters was instituted for the first time at this edition.
The 37th International Film Festival of India was held from November 23 – December 3 2006 in Goa. The jury, headed by Australian director Rolf de Heer, consisted of French director Olivier Assayas, Polish actress Grażyna Szapołowska, Argentinian actress Leticia Bredice and India's Jahnu Barua.
The 38th International Film Festival of India was held from November 23 - December 3 2007 in Goa. Hungarian cinema was the "Country Focus" in this edition. Filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta was the chief guest for this edition.
The 41st International Film Festival of India was held from 22 November – 2 December 2010 in Goa. Veteran director Yash Chopra was the chief guest for this edition. The "Cannes Kaleidoscope 2010" was the highlight of the 41st edition. The "Best Actress" and "Best Actor" awards were re-instituted from this edition. The 41st edition paid homage to veteran French filmmaker Eric Rohmer. Six of his feature films were part of the festival. The platinum jubilee of Oriya Cinema was Commemorated and 26 Feature Films were screened. The edition also marked the commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of the Film & Television Institute of India.
The 49th International Film Festival of India was a film festival held from 20 to 28 November 2018 in Goa. In the 49th event new sections such as "Sketch on Screen ", "A Retrospective of Masters" are inculcated. 212 films were being showcased during the event, with Israel being the country of focus.
The 50th International Film Festival of India was held from 20 to 28 November 2019 in Goa. Russia is the country of focus with eight Russian language films being screened.
The 51st International Film Festival of India was held from 16 to 24 January 2021 in Goa. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festival went hybrid, there was physical and virtual screening of 50 films out of 224 films across various categories. Bangladesh was country of focus in the festival with four films of the country included in 'country of focus' section.
The 52nd International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November 2021 with The King of All the World by Carlos Saura in Goa. Like 51st edition this edition was also held in hybrid format, that combined online and face-to-face participation. BRICS Film Festival is being held alongside main festival, in which films from BRICS nations, namely Brazil, Russia, South Africa, China and India are showcased. These five countries are 'country of focus' in the 52nd edition of the festival.
The 53rd International Film Festival of India was an event held from 20 to 28 November 2022 with Alma & Oskar by Dieter Berner as the opening feature film, and Perfect Number by Krzysztof Zanussi as the closing feature film. France was the country of focus in the festival with eight films of the country included in the 'country of focus' section.
The IFFI Award for Best Director is an honor presented annually at the International Film Festival of India since the 40th IFFI 2009 for the best direction in World cinema. Earlier the award was presented as the "Silver Peacock for the Most Promising Asian Director" during "31st IFFI 2000" to "39th IFFI 2008"
The IFFI Special Jury Award and Special Mention are the two honors presented annually at the International Film Festival of India for excellency in Film Art in World cinema. It was first presented during the 4th IFFI 1969. The award was later re-instated since 29th IFFI 1998. On the occasion of 100 years of Indian cinema, Centenary Awards were conferred during 2012, 2013, and 2014. The Special Mention being awarded since the 46th IFFI 2015.
The 54th International Film Festival of India opened on 20 November 2023 with Catching Dust by Stuart Gatt in Goa. Shekhar Kapur an Indian filmmaker served as chairperson of the international jury. This year a new award category Best Web Series Award was introduced in the festival. 32 entries in 10 languages from 15 Over-the-top media service platforms were selected to compete for this award.
