Australia to Launch National Indian Film Festival in 2025.

Originally published on Digital Cinema Report.

Bollywood superstar Akhsay Kumar shooting the film Heyy Babyy in Darling Harbour (2007).

The Australian Centre for Indian Cinema today announced a major initiative to create the biggest celebration of Indian cinema in Australasia with Australia’s first and only National Indian Film Festival (NIFF) from 13-16 February 2025.

The ambitious plans will see the National Indian Film Festival held across seven cities in Australia in February 2025, with national Australia cinema chain Dendy Cinema, major Indian news media company NDTV and cinema advertising company Val Morgan, coming on board as stakeholders.

The festival is the brainchild of filmmaker and Australia’s leading expert on Indian cinema, Anupam Sharma, who will head the festival with industry veteran Peter Castaldi serving as festival director. Sharma and Castaldi bring a long history in the industry to the project, with both involved in some of the first Indian festivals in Australia in the 1990s.

The NIFF will see a weekend of celebrations and screenings around Australia in Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, the Gold Coast, Darwin and Hobart. One yet-to-be-decided city will host the opening night party, workshops, closing night film and panels on investments, coproduction, development and collaboration. The festival will also offer development grants for Australian screen content related to India and awards, to be announced in November.

Anil Uniyal, CEO of NDTV, said: “NDTV is going global and with Indian diaspora increasing in Australasia, supporting such a pioneering initiative on Indian cinema as a media partner was a no brainer, particularly given the track record of those producing this biggest celebration of Indian cinema outside India. We look forward to supporting the festival with yearlong support through the multiple platforms of NDTV, reaching over half a billion people around the world, including the 30-minute capsule on Australia-India cultural, film and artistic links.”

Sharon Strickland, CEO of Dendy Cinema, said: “Dendy Cinema is honoured to partner with the National Indian Film Festival, bringing the best of Indian cinema to audiences across Australia. With a resurgence of Indian films making a strong impact at the global box office, this collaboration highlights our commitment to showcasing diverse and culturally significant stories. We are excited to support this festival, celebrating the vibrant creativity and growing influence of Indian filmmaking on the world stage.”

Sharma said: “Australia was craving for a professional national celebration of Indian cinema, and it is an absolute honour to receive the support of mainstream Australia with Dendy as our major partner and NDTV as media partner. This will be one of the rare film festivals which will be produced by filmmakers.

“One of the most important and exciting aspects of the festival will be the creation of a 30-minute program to air on NDTV about Australia-India cultural and artistic ties, which will reach a potential audience of over 350 million across NDTV platforms. Money cannot buy such exposure for Australian cultural links with India.”

Festival Director, Peter Castaldi, said: “I am delighted to have been invited to take such an important role in this vital Indo-Australian cultural and business initiative. On the back of the co-production treaty, sparking a resurgence of film links and high box office revenue in Australasia for pan Indian films, it makes sense to offer a national audience the opportunity to enjoy a professionally curated taster of the vitality of the amazingly rich and diverse Indian production sector. I look forward to working with the NIFF to deliver exciting, informative and entertaining experiences for all Australians.”

Paul MacGregor, Director of Strategy and Marketing at Val Morgan, said: “The record-breaking success of Indian films in Australia over the past three years is a clear indication of the strong and growing appetite for a national festival like this.

“We’re excited to be working the team at Australian Centre for Indian Cinema on the inaugural festival, which not only celebrates the cultural richness of Indian cinema but also opens an exciting and unique opportunity for brands to connect with this high-value, culturally diverse audience.”

The festival has also received support from all the major distributors of Indian films in Australia, NZ, and Fiji, including Forum Films and others. 

Other major partners, brand ambassadors and retrospectives will be announced at a press conference in November at IFFI Goa where Australia is a focus country.

The program and award details will be announced on 6 January 2025, with the festival to occur around Australia from 13-16 February 2025.