Japan has been named the focus country for this year’s International Film Festival of India (IFFI), set to take place in Goa from 20 November to 28 November, the organisers announced on Friday.
The 56th edition of the film festival will feature over 240 films from 81 countries, including 13 world premieres, five international premieres and 44 Asian premieres.
Japan will present six curated titles —-A Pale View of Hills, Dear Stranger, Seaside Serendipity, Tiger, Two Seasons, Two Strangers, and Catching The Stars of This Summer — at the festival.
“The 56th International Film Festival of India proudly presents Japan as the Country of Focus, spotlighting its powerful blend of tradition, innovation, and emotion in cinema,” the official page of the festival wrote on Instagram.
A record total of 2,314 films from 127 countries were submitted this year, among them 1,098 entries were in 18 Indian languages.
The festival will present three international competition categories with 32 films representing five continents. The lineup also includes award-winning titles such as the South Korean drama No Other Choice, Cannes Palme d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident, Venice Golden Lion winner Father Mother Sister Brother, Berlin Silver Bear winner The Message, and Sentimental Value by acclaimed Norwegian director Joachim Trier.
Brazilian director Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail has been selected as the opening film for IFFI 2025. The film was awarded the Silver Bear Grand Jury Prize at the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival.
Chiranjeet Chakraborty and Rukmini Maitra’s upcoming Bengali film Haati Haati Paa Paa is set to have its world premiere at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). Soukarya Ghosal’s Pokkhirajer Dim will also be screened at the festival.
Bijukumar Damodaran’s film Papa Buka, starring Tollywood actress Ritabhari Chakraborty, is also selected for the gala premieres and red carpet screening at the film festival.
Among the distinguished participants this year are Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Anupam Kher, Aamir Khan, Bobby Deol, Ravi Varman, Khushboo Sundar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Christopher Charles Corbould OBE, Pete Draper, and Sreekar Prasad.
IFFI 2025 will also commemorate the birth centenaries of Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury through special screenings of restored classics from their filmographies.
The Indian Panorama section will showcase 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and 5 debut features. Rajkumar Periyasamy’s Tamil film Amaran, starring Sivakarthikeyan and Sai Pallavi, will inaugurate the feature category, while Kakori will open the non-feature section.
Actor Raja Bundela serves as the chairperson of the feature film jury, with Dharam Gulati leading the non-feature category.
This year’s edition will also see Spain participating as the Partner Country, with Australia taking centre stage as the Spotlight Country.