Global voices and Indian cinema come together at 56th IFFI Goa festival
Thinking about cinema in Goa has always required a certain attentiveness because this festival has a way of slowing the mind while sharpening observation.
That attentiveness felt especially vivid this year. The news of Dharmendra’s passing earlier in the week rested quietly over the festival grounds, shaping conversations and lending weight to the minute of silence at the Film Bazaar’s closing ceremony.
It created an atmosphere where films, filmmakers and audiences carried themselves with a heightened awareness of artistic legacies and the fragile continuity that binds generations of cinema.
Across Panjim, screenings and press interactions revealed how filmmakers from Iran, Iraq, Assam, Bulgaria, Russia, Turkey, Mexico and several Indian regions approached storytelling with conviction. At the press conference featuring My Daughter’s Hair and The President’s Cake, Iranian and Iraqi voices brought a candour grounded in lived experience.
They spoke of family pressures, political environments and creative paths shaped by circumstance. Listening to them, one could sense how festivals become places where national histories are spoken through personal memory.
The Assamese teams behind Bhaimon Da and Patralekha carried a different emotional register. Their articulation of Munin Barua’s influence and Bhupen Hazarika's enduring resonance felt like cultural continuity taking shape through cinema.
The way they described their work suggested that regional storytelling thrives through artists who treat culture as an inheritance rather than a symbol. The screenings through the day offered a wide canvas. Oslo — A Tail of Promise, presented by actor Pooja Rajiv Bhale and composer Hriday Deepak Gattani, brought a reflective tone to its session.
Shangrila, with writer Binod Chhetri present, drew attention to Sikkimese life and its shifting rhythms. Neetu Chandra's involvement in Chhath created a strong Bhojpuri presence in the schedule. Pokkhirajer Dim, led by Soukarya Ghosal and Anirban Bhattacharya, contributed a Bengali vision shaped by imagination and emotional detail.
The afternoon offered some of the day’s most absorbing interactions. The Untold Agony screened with director Jayram Bhaskar Waghmode and actor-producer Santosh Anil Kasbe speaking thoughtfully about its Marathi narrative.
White Snow, represented by Praveen Morchhale and creative director Ajay Chourey, shaped a quiet session marked by restraint. Gondhal, with Kishor Bhanudas Kadam and creative producer Rameshwar Govindrao Bendrikar, added a grounded Marathi energy.
The presence of Jabbar Patel during Ek Hota Vidushak showed how certain filmmakers continue to influence the values and questions within Indian cinema. Later, Sibi Malayil and GP Vijayakumar introduced Kireedam, reinforcing the lasting strength of Malayalam storytelling.
In the evening, Binodiini Ekti Natir Upakhyan brought director Ram Kamal Mukherjee and producer Aritra Das to their audience. The screening of Shiva drew considerable attention, heightened by Nagarjuna’s arrival on the red carpet.
His presence carried the weight of a film that redefined Telugu cinema’s visual language and attitude in the early 1990s. For many in the crowd, watching him walk with the ease of someone who shaped an entire generation of screen style felt like revisiting a landmark moment in their own film memory.
It was the kind of appearance that reminded the festival why iconic performances continue to hold relevance long after their release. Beyond screenings, the roundtable on film criticism gathered a thoughtful audience.
Critics deliberated on the evolving nature of the field, the pressures of digital immediacy and the continuing need for independent judgement. Their conversation displayed a shared understanding that festivals remain essential spaces where criticism and reflection gain structure.
Filmmakers from Bulgaria, Russia and the Turkish German Bulgarian team of Those Who Whistle After Dark widened the day’s frame. Their reflections on philosophy, migration, artistic vulnerability and the nature of collaboration created a session that resembled a focused academic exchange.
Shekhar Kapur's session on technology and creativity added another dimension, raising questions about emotion, intuition and the artistic choices that shape future cinema. Along the Mandovi, performances by local musicians and dancers contributed to the festival’s character.
Self-help groups preparing regional food created an environment where cultural exchange happened naturally, making the promenade feel like an integral extension of the festival's energy. If a festival prompts reflection, what did Goa make its audience think about? IFFI brought together films, their creators, the questions they raised and the memories they carried.
Across the venues, these elements worked together with a natural ease, turning the festival into a space where cinema was examined with intent.
The experience showed how the medium helps societies look at themselves through conversation, interpretation and presence. The festival upheld that role with steady purpose.
