Message from The Festival Director

Namastey and welcome to the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2022!

After two years of the pandemic-driven online festival, we are finally back in the world to revive the magic of cinema with you in physical form. That is why this year’s theme for our festival is REVIVAL. We are very excited to present over a hundred films from the nooks and crannies of India and the Subcontinent, engaging new talent, diverse stories, and brilliant storytelling. Through these films we take a microscopic lens into Indian culture, stories about identity, disability, sustainability in the contexts of the subcontinent. We have carefully curated a selection of films that will make you laugh, cry and shudder with pride. As ecstatic as we are to screen these cinematic gems in person, we also have developed our IFFM app to allow our viewers to have an optimal online cinematic experience anywhere in Australia!

This year is huge for us! We are proud to celebrate India’s 75th Independence Day. It is an honour to hoist our Indian flag up high in the beautiful lands of Australia. We are over the moon to invite some of India’s most prolific writers, directors, producers, and actors to grace our festival and answer all your burning film questions through a series of panel discussions. Over the course of the festival, we plan to bring the community together through the most heart-pumping, foot-tapping events, especially the Indian Dance Competition and the glamourous Awards Night. We are also extremely proud to showcase a curation of talented works from independent filmmakers for The IFFM Short Film Competition.

This is the 13th year of our celebrated festival, and it only grows bigger, stronger and better every year. We cannot thank you and our partners enough for believing in us, helping us push the boundaries of cinema and give a platform to new, exciting voices. To our participants, volunteers, staff, guests, and our wonderful audience, I have nothing but immense love and gratitude for you.

We look forward to you joining us at IFFM 2022 for a jampacked season of fabulous films, festivities, and lots and lots of fun!

Mitu Bhowmick Lange
IFFM Festival Director