The National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) has wrapped up its debut edition, celebrating Indian cinema across seven cities from 13 February to 2 March. The festival, which aimed to spotlight diverse stories from the Indian subcontinent, ended with a red carpet gala in Perth, screening Tannishtha Chatterjee’s Roam Rome Mein.
Among the big winners was Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon, which took home the Best Feature Film award. Starring Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh, and Shashank Arora, the film follows the journey of small-town dreamers in Malegaon trying to make their own films – inspired by the acclaimed 2008 documentary Supermen of Malegaon.
Reacting to the win, Kagti said:
“We’re thrilled that the story of these passionate filmmakers from Malegaon has resonated with audiences in Australia. Thank you to NIFFA for bringing our film to cities across the country.”
The festival’s all-women Nomination Council, alongside Festival Directors Anupam Sharma and Peter Castaldi, announced the winners at the closing ceremony – marking a significant step in NIFFA’s mission to celebrate Indian cinema beyond just the diaspora.
Other winners included:
Best Indie Feature Film: WingMan (The Universal Irony of Love) by Anuj Gulati
Best International Indian Film: Parikrama by Goutam Ghose
Best Documentary Feature: Maa Oori Ramayanam by Badrappa Gajula
Best Documentary (Short): The Man Who Hurls News by Ananth Narayan Mahadevan
Mahadevan’s documentary, about one of the world’s longest-serving newspaper boys, won praise for its unique perspective on news consumption.
“I’m humbled that audiences in Australia connected emotionally with this unusual character. NIFFA’s curation of Indian stories for global audiences is truly special,” the filmmaker said.
The festival has been embraced not only by the Indian diaspora but by wider Australian audiences, with screenings at Murdoch University, Mercury Cinemas, and The Backlot Studios. NIFFA will now extend its celebrations with regional tours – a first-of-its-kind initiative to take Indian cinema to smaller Australian towns.
Founder Anupam Sharma reflected on the festival’s ground breaking debut:
“Our goal was to build bridges between Australian and Indian cinema – not just through glitzy galas but by reaching communities that rarely experience these stories. This is just the beginning.”