Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2024

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) is a chance to see some of India’s latest films. There are over 65 films on the program, including 20 by female directors. This year’s festival also prides itself on featuring films in 26 different Indian languages.

It has six world premieres, including cinematic anthology My Melbourne. Four of the film’s seven directors – Onir, Rima Das, Imtiaz Ali and Kabir Khan – will be making an appearance on opening night at Hoyts District Docklands.

Other world premieres to look out for are The Zebras – Dark Start (2024) directed by award-winning Aneek Chaudhuri, known for White (2020) and Cactus (2020). Chaudhuri’s latest film is a modern tale of a photographer in Kolkata who used AI to create virtual monsters.

For drama lovers, there’s Wild Swans (2023) directed and written by Rajni Basumatary. The film follows the story of a doctoral student who is forced to reckon with the impacts of militarisation and the patriarchy in a rural town in Northeast India.

Indian stars will also be coming down to join the festivities, including award-winning actress Rani Mukerji from Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway (2023) and filmmaker and TV personality Karan Johar.