Delhi’s first International Film Festival to begin on March 25
Delhi Government Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra on Saturday announced the organisation of Delhi's first International Film Festival, Delhi (IFFD) 2026. He stated that the Delhi Government and the Delhi Tourism Department, under the leadership of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, will organise the festival from March 25 to 31 at Bharat Mandapam.
Mishra said that Delhi has three primary objectives. Counting on the objectives, the minister said the first is to advance the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding the orange economy and creator economy by developing Delhi as a hub for live entertainment. The festival aims to provide a global platform to young talents associated with theatre, art, direction, camera, animation, AI and other creative fields, enabling their work to be seen worldwide.
The second objective is to showcase Delhi's world-class infrastructure for hosting global events — developed during the Prime Minister's tenure — including Bharat Mandapam, Yashobhoomi, Kartavya Path, the National War Memorial, the new Parliament building, and the Prime Minister's Museum.
The third key objective of the festival is to establish Delhi as a preferred destination for film shooting.
Mishra stated that the chief minister has also extended her best wishes for the event. She described IFFD as a cinema festival that promotes creativity, creates opportunities, and firmly establishes Delhi on the global cultural map.
The minister further informed that more than 2,000 entries have been received from countries around the world for this festival. Out of these, 140 films have been selected for screening for cinema lovers.
Along with international films, the festival will showcase the diversity of India through selected films from Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Marathi, Bhojpuri, Punjabi, Haryanvi, North-Eastern and Bengali cinema.
Additionally, some major Bollywood films will also be screened. Notably, the screening of “Dhurandhar 2” will be a major attraction of the festival.
Mishra said that over the past year, the Delhi Government and Delhi Tourism have made several significant efforts to promote art, culture and tourism in the Capital.
These include a grand drone show at India Gate during Diwali, large-scale arrangements for Chhath Puja and Kanwar Yatra, as well as celebrations of Teej. Initiatives such as Bhajan Clubbing in Delhi University have also been undertaken to connect the younger generation with culture and tradition. Shortly a Bhajan clubbing at JNU will also be organised.
