The National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA), in partnership with Dendy, today announced an impressive lineup of films, including three world premieres, and 36 Australian premieres for what is set to be the biggest Indian film event that Australia has ever seen.
Much anticipated Indian film Superboys of Malegaon, which screened at the Toronto International Film Festival and BFI London Festival, will make its Australian premiere to officially open NIFFA on 13 February 2025 in Sydney, as part of the NIFFA red carpet gala event in Sydney followed by red carpet galas in Canberra, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth, and a grand finale in Melbourne before a nationwide release by Forum Films.
Actress Tannishtha Chatterjee’s directorial debut and critically acclaimed Rome Roam Mein will be the Festival’s closing night film.
In what is considered a coup and unexpected treat for Australian cinema-goers, NIFFA will present Australian and world premieres, together with retrospectives, of more than 40 films in various languages, including some rare languages that have never been presented in Australian theatres, courtesy of support from the National Film and Development Corporation (NFDC).
An impressive roll call of Australian and Indian dignitaries, VIPs and stars will attend the red-carpet opening events. They will be held in Sydney, Canberra, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and Melbourne, in what is truly a first-of-its-kind celebration of Indian cinema in Australia.
The Sydney red carpet is being hosted by the Indian Consul General in Sydney and the Festival has received unprecedented support from the Indian High Commission in Canberra, the Consul General in Brisbane and Perth, along with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations – Sydney Centre.
Alongside Superboys of Malegaon, other Festival program highlights include:
- Tannishtha Chatterjee’s directorial debut and critically acclaimed Rome Roam Mein
- Indian indie feature Wingman by Anuj Gulati
- Indian/Italian docu-drama Parikrama from Goutam Ghose
- Two films by Ananth Mahadevan including the world premiere of his short documentary The Man Who Hurls News
- World premieres of feature documentaries What If I Tell You by Teenaa Kaur and Australian documentary Maa Oori Ramayanam by Badrappa Gajula
“As a filmmaker, my main aim was to treat my fellow Australians to the most diverse, critically acclaimed, and engaging package of Indian cinema ever seen in Australia. I wanted to move away from Bollywood cliches, hence the biggest stars you will see at our Festival are the films our Nomination Council has chosen,” said Festival Director Anupam Sharma.
Pritesh Raniga of Forum Films, one of the biggest distributors of Indian films in ANZ and supporter of NIFFA, said: “We are so delighted that a major mainstream release like Superboys of Malegaon will have red carpet premieres through NIFFA around Australia.
“We are looking forward to bringing this film to Australians everywhere with a nationwide release on 27 February 2025.”
Sharma added, “With our links to Excel Entertainment going back a quarter of a century from Dil Chahta Hai, it is a professional and personal delight to showcase Reema Kagti’s film and Excel Entertainment Production to mainstream Australia through red carpet galas around Australia.
“Big thanks to Ritesh Sidhwani, Farhan Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Zoya Akhtar, and Forum Films in Australia for enabling us to open this pioneering film festival with a great film about filmmaking.”
Festival Co-Director Peter Castaldi said, “Opening our Festival with Superboys of Malegaon is a huge honour. Thanks to Amazon, AA Film, and Pritesh from Forum for allowing us to showcase this highly successful international Indian film and Festival ‘darling’ as the NIFFA headline, before its official Australian release on 28 February.
“We are humbled by the high calibre of films submitted to our Festival in its inaugural year. It is a testament to the professionalism of the Festival, the respect for Anupam’s work over 25 years with India, and the amazing nomination council of Neeru, Deepti, Amruta, and Achala.”
