The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has officially announced the nominations for its 17th edition. The upcoming festival, which will take place from August 13 to August 23, celebrates Indian cinema and streaming content across a variety of languages and regions. Supported by the Victorian Government, the event stands as one of the largest international festivals dedicated to Indian film.
This year’s list of nominations covers a wide range of productions, including projects released both in theatres and on OTT platforms. Awards will be presented across several key categories, such as Best Film, Best Indie Film, Best Director, acting honours, Best Series, Best Documentary Film, and Best Film from the Subcontinent.
The competition for the Best Performance (Male) category is particularly notable, featuring a lineup that includes Aamir Khan, Ahaan Pandey, Bhuman Bhargav Das, Dulquer Salmaan, Mammootty, Ranveer Singh, Rishab Shetty, and Sanjay Mishra. Meanwhile, the Best Performance (Female) category nominees are Aneet Padda, Kalyani Priyadarshan, Kirti Kulhari, Neena Gupta, Rajshri Deshpande, Rani Mukerji, Rituparna Sengupta, and Yami Gautam Dhar.
The race for the Best Film award includes titles such as Haq, Jarann, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra, Saiyaara, Sitaare Zameen Par, Sharthopor, and The Great Shamsuddin Family. Additionally, the Best Director category features nominations for Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari (System), Chandrasish Ray (Porshi), Mohit Suri (Saiyaara), Ramalingam Gowtham (Members of the Problematic Family), Rima Das (Not a Hero), Rishab Shetty (Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1), RS Prasanna (Sitaare Zameen Par), and Shazia Iqbal (Dhadak 2).
Streaming content also features prominently in this year’s selection, with series such as Kohrra: Season 2, Matka King, Sapne Vs Everyone, Freedom at Midnight: Season 2, and The Ba***ds of Bollywood making the list.
The winners will be selected by a jury comprised of members from Australia’s film industry and cultural sector. Apart from the awards ceremony, the 2026 festival will also host film premieres, panel discussions, masterclasses, special screenings, and industry events.
Here is the full list of the nominations across categories for IFFM 2026:
Best Film
Haq (Hindi)
Jarann (Marathi)
Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Saiyaara (Hindi)
Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Sharthopor (Bengali)
The Great Shamsuddin Family (Hindi)
Best Indie Film
Ammang Haelbeda (Don’t Tell Mother) – (Kannada)
Full Plate – (Hindi)
Kikkran De Phull (Flowers of Acacia) – (Punjabi)
Lala and Poppy – (Hindi)
Mayilaa – Semmalar Annam (Tamil)
Members of the Problematic Family – (Tamil)
Not a Hero – (Assamese, Hindi, English)
Pankhudiyaan (Petals in the Wind) – (Hindi)
Best Director
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari – System (Hindi)
Chandrasish Ray – Porshi (Bengali)
Mohit Suri – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Ramalingam Gowtham – Members of The Problematic Family (Tamil)
Rima Das – Not a Hero (Assamese, English, Hindi)
Rishab Shetty – Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
R.S. Prasanna – Sitaare Zamen Par (Hindi)
Shazia Iqbal – Dhadak 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Male)
Aamir Khan – Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Ahaan Pandey – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Bhuman Bhargav Das – Kein Held (Not a Hero) – (Assamese)
Dulquer Salmaan – Kaantha (Tamil)
Mammootty – Kalamkaval: The Venom Beneath (Malayalam)
Ranveer Singh – Dhurandhar (Hindi)
Rishab Shetty – Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Sanjay Mishra – Vadh 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Female)
Aneet Padda – Saiyaara (Hindi)
Kalyani Priyadarshan – Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Kirti Kulhari – Full Plate (Hindi)
Neena Gupta – Vadh 2 (Hindi)
Rajshri Deshpande – Baapya (Marathi)
Rani Mukerji – Mardaani 3 (Hindi)
Rituparna Sengupta – Bela (Bengali)
Yami Gautam Dhar – Haq (Hindi)
Best Series
Baai Tujhyapayi (Marathi)
Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Matka King (Hindi)
Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Sapne Vs Everyone (Hindi)
The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Hindi)
Perfect Family (Hindi)
Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)
Best Performance (Male) – Series
Ambrish Verma – Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Arif Zakaria – Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)
Barun Sobti – Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Kunal Kemmu – Single Papa (Hindi)
Paramvir Singh Cheema – Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Manav Kaul – Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Manoj Pawa – Perfect Family (Hindi)
Vijay Varma – Matka King (Hindi)
Best Performance (Female) – Series
Anandhi – Arabia Kadali (Telugu)
Huma Qureshi – Maharani: Season 4 (Hindi)
Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli – Kuttram Purinshavan: The Guilty One (Tamil)
Mona Singh – Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Rasika Dugal – Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Seema Pahwa – Perfect Family (Hindi)
Shefali Shah – Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Swastika Mukherjee – Kaalipotka (Bengali)
Best Documentary Film
Flying Tigers – Madhusree Dutta (Bengali, English, Mandarin, German, Polish)
Working Girls – Paromita Vohra (Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali)
Loving Karma – Johnny Burke, Andrew Hinton (English, Monpa, Hindi)
Njaan Revathi (I am Revathi) – P. Abhijith (Tamil)
Breaking The Code – Ben Rekhi, Swetlana (English)
The Gas Station Attendant – Karla Murthy (English)
Music in a Village Named 1PB – Surabhi Sharma (Hindi)
Bride of Aravan – Lesley Branagan (Tamil)
Best Film from The Subcontinent
Sand City – Mahde Hasan (Bangladesh)
Roid – Mejbaur Rahman Sumon (Bangladesh)
Spying Stars – Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka)
Ek Mutthi Badal (My Share of Sky) – Sahara Sharma (Nepal)
No Good Men – Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan)
Goodbye Sisters – Alexander Murphy (Nepal)
Delupi – Mohammad Touqir Islam (Bangladesh)
In The Room – Brishkay Ahmed (Afghanistan)
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