The City of Greater Geelong has rolled out the red carpet to celebrate the launch of the 2026 National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) program.
Achala Datar on the red carpet at the National Indian Film Festival of Australia launch in Geelong. Photo: Rose Robertson
NIFFA, in partnership with the Geelong Waterfront Film Foundation’s REEL festival, highlights how valuable it is to share diverse stories to a wide audience to increase understanding and community connection between cultures.
Producer of one of the festival’s featured films Khwabeeda, Chettan Oberoi, said at Wednesday night’s launch that he was excited to see his work shared on the big screen.
“Film making itself is already exciting, you meet different people with different ideas, and you want to share your ideas with a larger audience,” Mr Oberoi said.
In the lead up to Victoria’s Cultural Diversity Week (21-29 March 2026), the program aims to showcase the rich diversity of Indian film making to an Australian audience.
Mr Oberoi said that the Indian Film Festival was a way to bring people together and share different experiences.
“I want to convey a message that at the end of the day we are all human beings,” he said.
According to the most recent census, there are currently 5097 Geelong residents who were born in India.
In Geelong, Indian-born residents had the biggest growth in population numbers between 2016 and 2021. It is the most prevalent non-English speaking country of birth for multicultural residents.
Anupam Sharma, founder and director of NIFFA, said he had been fostering film connections between Australia and India since 1998.
“I want Australian audiences to see the richness and diversity of Indian cinema,” he said.
Mr Sharma said that it is important to see an accurate representation of the community on television and in movies.
“You see different colours, different faces, you hear different accents,” he said. “That’s what we need to see on the screens.”
“Learning about another culture through cinema is the best way.”
The City of Greater Geelong is becoming increasingly more culturally diverse. The latest census revealed that there was a more than 25 per cent increase in residents who were born overseas between 2016 and 2021.
NIFFA nomination council member and head of operations at Zee Studios, Achala Datar, said film festivals can help bring communities together.
“It’s good to see that Geelong, which is now a very popular city for Indian migrants, is getting a chance to host the festival,” Ms Datar said.
Ms Datar said she was proud to have been given the opportunity to view and select the films for the 2026 program.
“Festivals like this actually bring people together to see what other cultures provide and what they stand for,” she said. “We can learn from each other.”
The National Indian Film Festival of Australia follows a three-day Geelong-India Collaborative Futures Forum and will be held in Geelong from March 18 to March 22 at Reading Cinemas Waurn Ponds.
The festival will showcase a variety of Indian feature films in more than 18 different languages, supported with English subtitles.
It will then continue on to tour 12 other cities throughout Australia.
