National Indian Film Festival of Australia: Reema Kagti directorial 'Superboys of Malegaon' wins best film

The National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) successfully concluded its inaugural edition, which ran from February 13 to March 2, 2025. The festival wrapped up with a Red-Carpet Gala and the closing night screening of Roam Rome Mein, directed by Tannishtha Chatterjee, at Murdoch University in Perth. This marked the culmination of an extensive seven-city tour that included Sydney, Canberra, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne.

Extending its celebrations, NIFFA is set to host encore screenings of select films at Dendy Cinemas in the coming weeks. Additionally, it will launch NIFFA Regional, an initiative aimed at bringing Indian cinema to regional Australia for the first time.

The festival’s all-woman Nomination Council, along with Festival Directors Anupam Sharma and Peter Castaldi, announced the winners. Superboys of Malegaon, directed by Reema Kagti, was awarded Best Film. Kagti expressed gratitude to NIFFA for selecting the film and providing it with a platform across various Australian cities, allowing it to reach a broader audience. She noted that the festival audiences resonated with the film’s themes of dreams and determination.

The award for Best Indie Feature Film went to WingMan (The Universal Irony of Love) by Anuj Gulati, while Goutam Ghose’s Parikrama was named Best International Indian Film. Maa Oori Ramayanam by Badrappa Gajula won Best Documentary Feature.

Prolific filmmaker Ananth Narayan Mahadevan’s The Man Who Hurls News received the Best Documentary (Short) award. Mahadevan remarked that winning the award at NIFFA held special significance, as the film explored the life of one of the world’s longest-serving newspaper boys, who had been in the profession for 60 years. He observed that audiences in Australia connected emotionally with the character’s journey and praised NIFFA’s curated selection of Indian films. He also expressed his hopes for the festival’s continued success in future editions.

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ABOUT NIFFA

NIFFA has been widely embraced by film institutions and audiences beyond the Indian diaspora. The festival established key partnerships, with screenings held at venues such as Murdoch University in Perth, Mercury Cinemas in Adelaide, and The Backlot Studios in both Melbourne and Perth. Dendy Cinemas served as the National Screening Partner, alongside SBS Australia.

Reflecting on the festival’s success, NIFFA’s Founder and Festival Director, Anupam Sharma, emphasized the importance of promoting Australian-Indian film connections. He highlighted the significance of two Australian winners who independently produced their films between Australia and India without external support, driven purely by passion. Looking ahead, Sharma expressed excitement about structuring additional pioneering initiatives and expanding Indian film screenings to regional Australia, an endeavor that has not been attempted before.

Additional winners included The Last Show by Valavan Velmurugan, which was awarded Best Short Film, and The Garmentologist, which received a Special Mention in the Short Film category. The Post-Production Completion Grant was awarded to Misty by Raja Chatterjee.

With the upcoming launch of NIFFA Regional, encore screenings at Dendy Cinemas, and Melbourne’s final Red-Carpet Gala still ahead, the festival’s journey is only just beginning.