[Melbourne] Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Announces 2025 Program

The 2025 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) today launches its full program, unveiling over 75 films in 31 languages, with the vast majority screening for the first time to Australian audiences. Now in its 16th year and proudly backed by the Victorian Government, IFFM is the largest celebration of Indian cinema held outside India and will bring a bold and diverse selection of stories to screens across Melbourne and regional Victoria from 14th to 24th August.

“The 2025 Festival celebrates the creativity, courage and cultural richness of Indian cinema,” said IFFM Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange AM. “From landmark retrospectives to bold new voices, this year’s program is a reflection of India’s dynamic storytelling traditions and its ongoing dialogue with the world.”

OPENING AND CLOSING NIGHT

IFFM will open on 14 August with the Australian Premiere of Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox), fresh from its debut at the Berlin International Film Festival. Directed by Tanushree Das and Saumyananda Sahi, this moving drama follows Maya, a working-class woman in India juggling three jobs to keep her family afloat, who is forced to confront her deepest fears when her husband suddenly disappears.  Director Tanushree Das, along with lead actress Tillotama Shome and producer Jim Sarbh, will attend the screening at HOYTS District Docklands.

On 24th August, the Festival will close with Homebound, the latest feature from Neeraj Ghaywan. Produced by Karan Johar and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Homebound follows two childhood friends from northern India who aspire to join the police force in the hope of building a different future. The film had its World Premiere in the 2025 Cannes’ Un Certain Regard section where it received a nine-minute standing ovation. Ghaywan, Johar and members of the cast will be in Melbourne to present the film on Closing Night.

FESTIVAL GUESTS

IFFM is honoured to welcome Aamir Khan as the Festival’s official Chief Guest. Widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in Indian cinema, Khan will be celebrated with a retrospective program featuring landmark works including Taare Zameen Par, PK, Dangal and Lagaan. A special screening of his latest film Sitaare Zameen Par will be followed by an on-stage conversation with director R.S. Prasanna and Aparna Purohit, CEO of Aamir Khan Films. The film follows a basketball coach assigned to community service, who discovers a new purpose in mentoring a team of neurodivergent adults. The retrospective will honour Khan’s four-decade legacy of inclusive, socially conscious storytelling.

Also attending the Festival is internationally renowned comedian and Emmy-winner Vir Das, who will appear in an exclusive In Conversation session on 17 August. Known for his Netflix specials, Das is currently on his record-breaking Mind Fool world tour. Other Festival guests include actor and dancer Malaika Arora and casting director and filmmaker Mukesh Chhabra.

SPECIAL EVENTS

Flag Hoisting Ceremony at Federation Square
A cherished IFFM tradition marking India’s Independence Day, the annual Flag Hoisting Ceremony will take place on Saturday 16 August at Federation Square. Led by Chief Guest Aamir Khan, the event brings together film fans, families and the broader community to celebrate Indian culture and cinema with music, dance and national pride.

Remitly IFFM Dance Competition
Immediately following the flag hoisting, Federation Square will erupt into colour and movement with the Remitly IFFM Dance Competition. A high-energy public event that celebrates choreography, creativity and cultural fusion, the competition is a Festival highlight and one of Melbourne’s most joyous celebrations of Indian performing arts.

IFFM Pride Day
On 22 August, IFFM hosts a dedicated day of screenings and celebrations amplifying LGBTQIA+ voices in Indian cinema. The program includes Badnam Basti (1971), India’s first queer film that was  thought lost until a print was discovered in archives in 2020; and We Are Faheem and Karun, a recent LGBTQIA+ romance set in Kashmir by queer filmmaker Onir. The evening culminates in a Bollywood Pride Party, complete with drag performances and dancefloor anthems.

IFFM Regional Rhapsody
On 23 and 24 August, IFFM will take a curated selection of 2025 program highlights to regional Victoria as part of its annual Regional Rhapsody initiative. Screenings will be held in Geelong, Bendigo and Shepparton, expanding access to Indian cinema and connecting communities across the state with stories from the subcontinent.

PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS

With more than 75 films screening in 2025, this year’s program offers a sweeping view of Indian cinema today, spanning debut features, major award-winners, regional gems and urgent contemporary stories.

Boong, the Festival’s Centrepiece, follows a schoolboy’s journey across borders to find his missing father. Directed by Lakshmipriya Devi, this Toronto-premiered film is a vibrant story of friendship, music and hope in conflict-torn Manipur.

In Humans in the Loop, a divorced Adivasi woman raising her daughter in rural Jharkhand navigates the blurry edges of AI labour and real life. A quiet, affecting film exploring technology, gender and economic survival.

Pinch, a Tribeca hit, is a darkly funny and emotionally charged debut from Uttera Singh. When a young vlogger speaks out about an assault, her small town turns against her.

Berlinale standout The Fable is a haunting mystery set on a Himalayan orchard estate, where creeping fires expose the cracks in a powerful family’s colonial legacy.

Cannes selection The Shameless tells the story of a sex worker who finds refuge and love in a brothel community after killing a police officer. Defiant and intimate, it’s one of the year’s most affecting queer films.

Feminichi Fathima offers a sharp feminist portrait of a housewife whose quiet fight for autonomy begins with a mattress. A small domestic act becomes a powerful stand for independence.

For genre fans, Bhediya Dhasaan (Sheep Barn) brings visceral horror to the rural Indian countryside, while Second Chance examines the emotional aftermath of abortion through the story of a young couple wrestling with grief and guilt. Bad Girl, a Tamil coming-of-age drama, follows a teenage girl navigating strict parents, unrequited love and a chaotic internal world in search of a boyfriend. Rima Das returns to IFFM with Village Rockstars 2, a lyrical continuation of her 2017 breakout, revisiting Dhunu as she forges a path through music and responsibility in a rapidly changing Assam.

RETROSPECTIVES

The 2025 Festival will present a series of retrospective and restoration screenings celebrating iconic figures and landmark works in Indian cinema.

A major highlight is 100 Years of Guru Dutt, marking the centenary of the legendary actor and filmmaker. Widely regarded as one of Indian cinema’s greatest auteurs, Dutt was known for his poetic visual style and deeply humanist storytelling. IFFM will screen two of his most acclaimed films: Kaagaz Ke Phool (1959), a haunting tale of love and artistic decline, and Pyaasa (1957), a semi-autobiographical portrait of a struggling poet searching for meaning in a materialistic world.

IFFM 2025 runs from 14th–24th August across Melbourne, featuring screenings, panels, live performances, red carpet events and the prestigious IFFM Awards.

Tickets and festival passes are on sale now at iffm.com.au.