Goa is rolling out the red carpet again. When the 57th International Film Festival of India kicks off on November 20, the festival's sprawling footprint will bridge ancient mythology and contemporary geopolitical cinema across eight days in Panaji. Over 150 international titles from 86 countries made the cut.
Ranbir Kapoor's big-ticket mythological retelling Ramayana has locked the opening slot for the festival's dedicated BRICS segment. Starring Kapoor alongside Yash and Sai Pallavi, the film tracks Lord Ram through his 14-year forest exile, arriving on the festival circuit for its post-release showcase. The segment shines an expanded spotlight on cinema across all 11 member nations of the diplomatic bloc.
Festival organizers sifted through more than 1,900 submissions hailing from 137 countries before locking the 2026 program under the official banner "Stories Without Borders." On home soil, the Indian Cinema track will project 76 titles spanning 18 regional languages.
The festival opens its main international program with Fatherland, directed by Polish auteur Paweł Pawlikowski. Fresh off picking up the Best Director trophy at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival, Pawlikowski's period piece traces Nobel laureate Thomas Mann and his daughter Erika journeying across a splintered, post-war Germany in 1949. Singaporean filmmaker Anthony Chen provides the bookend, with his feature We Are All Strangers tapped as the official closing film.
| Festival Parameter | Metric / Official Selection |
|---|---|
| Festival Edition & Dates | 57th IFFI, November 20–28, 2026 |
| Host Location | Goa, India |
| Total Submissions | 1,900+ films from 137 countries |
| International Titles Screened | 150+ films from 86 countries |
| Indian Cinema Selection | 76 films across 18 languages |
| Country of Honour | Spain (4 official selections) |
Ranveer Singh takes center stage in the Indian Panorama. His feature Dhurandhar will open the prestigious section alongside Becoming, a non-feature work directed in the Ladakhi language. The double bill pairs high-octane star power directly against regional Himalayan realism.
Two brand-new competitive sections debut on the schedule. Five titles will contest the Animation category to highlight technological craftsmanship, while another curated slate of five movies headlines "Films About Films"—a program dedicated exclusively to the mechanics and history of moviemaking.
Spain claims the Country of Honour mantle for 2026. Four Spanish productions will screen in Goa: Jaime Lorente's The Bad Son, Trinidad, Pedro Almodóvar's Bitter Christmas, and Jaime Machia's Persiguiendo a Michael.
Seven titles will square off for the Best Debut Feature Film crown. India lands two contenders in the mix—The Sledge and Birds on Ice—facing off against Belgium's Paris, Germany's Fading Man, Egypt's The Black Sea, China's Atlantic, and the Franco-Italian co-production L'Âge d'Or (The Golden Age). Screenings run through November 28 across festival venues in Goa.