57th IFFI in Goa to Open on Stories Without Borders Theme

The 57th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) will be held in Goa from 20 to 28 November 2026 under the theme Stories Without Borders. The curtain raiser press conference at Taj Cidade de Goa Horizon was opened by Goa Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant, who described the festival as part of the state's cultural calendar.

Scale of the festival

The organisers received over 1,900 entries from 137 countries. From these, more than 150 international films representing 86 countries have been selected. Screenings will run across 13 indoor screens at four locations in Panaji, Porvorim, Margao and Ponda, with a combined seating capacity of over 4,000. Festival Director Ashutosh Gowariker explained that the theme asks whether a film can reach audiences in ways they have not felt before.

Films that open and close the festival

Fatherland, directed by Pawel Pawlikowski, is the opening film; it follows the writer Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika across a divided Germany in 1949 and won the Best Director honour at the Cannes Film Festival. I Matter, a 101-minute film directed by Alina Serban and co-produced by Romania, Germany and Belgium, is the Mid-Fest film. The festival closes with We Are All Strangers by Anthony Chen, a 157-minute entry from Singapore.

Countries, segments and Indian cinema

Spain is the Country of Honour with four films, and Russia joins as Partner Country, also with four. A special BRICS focus will screen work from all 11 member countries, opening with the Indian film Ramayana. Two new segments, Animation and Films About Films, carry five titles each. The Indian Panorama presents 76 films in 18 languages and opens with the Hindi feature Dhurandhar and the Ladakhi non-feature Becoming. The festival brings together 52 women filmmakers and 62 debut filmmakers, while the sixth edition of Creative Minds of Tomorrow selects 100 participants across 13 filmmaking crafts. WAVES Film Bazaar, run by NFDC, has Netflix as its Knowledge Series partner. IFFI was established in 1952 and is organised by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting with the Government of Goa and the Entertainment Society of Goa.