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The International Film Festival of India, Goa (IFFI Goa) is a tradition. If I miss covering a season, the week of November 20 gives me a bizarre hankering. “I should have been there,” it buzzes in my head. The reason is that there’s no Indian film festival that quite matches IFFI in scale and vibe. Held in the scenic state of Goa, the 55th edition of the festival saw screens not only in the regular venues of Panjim and Porvorim but also in the far-off Margao and Ponda. This time, the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) and the Press Information Bureau (PIB) put together a grand cultural fiesta. The festivities extended beyond film screenings as it showcased performing arts from all parts of the country.
The early heartburns
Owing to other commitments, I had to skip the inauguration and the opening film (The Better Man). Sadly, I was in for a string of disappointments on my first day in Panjim. I kicked off the movie marathon with Netflix’s The Piano Lesson. Despite an intriguing theme, the film did not register the desired impact due to the absence of subtitles. The English film with a thick 1930s AAVE accent was hard to decipher. I was in for another heartburn when I had to miss Hiroshi Okuyama’s My Sunshine due to a commutation delay. There were about 30 of us who missed it, so yeah, shared sorrow is half a sorrow. To not waste the available time, I attended a session by Rakul Preet Singh and Jackky Bhagnani hosted by Dhanya Varma. The celebrity couple shared generic tips and tricks to make it in the film industry.
Why Manoj Bajpayee, why?
Later in the evening, I watched Kanu Behl’s tedious Despatch in which Manoj Bajpayee appears as a sex-crazed investigative journalist. I watched the overlong feature primarily for its actors (Bajpayee and Shahana Goswami). However, the film’s screenplay rambled into an abyss of boredom and did nothing to boost the artiste’s effort. I closed the day with Thibault Emin’s Else– a mesmerizing body horror with surreal images and some good acting on display.
The Asian charmers
The next day, I watched Happy Holidays by Scandar Copti – an intercultural family drama. Although interesting, it was too chatty for my taste. The in-charges at the Porvorim INOX venue gave me a hard time by refusing to allow my laptop inside – which meant I would waste my time in between the shows instead of writing something. My heart was soothed almost immediately by Farshad Hashemi’s Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others – an Iran-set drama that emerged as my season’s top favorite. Saudi Arabian film Norah, too, was a poignant watch as it explored the repression faced by artists and young women in the ‘90s. The last watch for the day was the Mandarin film Bound In Heaven – a heartbreaking Erich Segal-styled romance designed for modern times.
How much violence is too much violence?
On this date, I do not detest the horror genre as I once used to. What irks me is the use of graphic visuals and violence without a rhyme or reason. Lotfi Achour’s Tunisian film Red Path had its foundation in a brutal homicide. But, after a point, the visuals and the meandering story tend to jar. To make it worse, the film offers no resolve or a reward for any party – the characters or the viewers. I should have thought twice before booking a film titled Bury Your Dead. Marco Dutra’s Brazilian drama hit all extremities of violence with blood and body parts all over its frames. Not my cup of tea! The silver lining was the mind-blowing cinematography. Later in the day, I calmed my nerves with the superb Norwegian marital drama Loveable. Australian film The Moogai was too basic a creature film to make an impact of any kind.
Rendevous with Manisha Koirala
The best thing that happened to me at IFFI 2024 was a long-pending meeting with Manisha Koirala whom I grew up admiring. It was an overwhelming moment when she recognized me. We managed to click a (blurry) picture as well. Manisha’s conversation with director Vikramaditya Motwane was made for an intriguing time as the duo evaluated the merits of the streaming format.
A comedy, some history, and a bite of cheese
Quentin Dupieux’s The Second Act invited thunderous applause from an audience that chuckled throughout. It was the kind of film I needed after having an emotional day (thanks to Manisha). The period gay drama Lilies Not For Me made for a frightening watch and it makes us thank the wonderful times we live in. The French film Holy Cow centered around two orphan siblings and their friends attempting to participate in a cheese-making contest. Featuring a confident lead act by Clément Favreau, the film presents a pragmatic facet of present-day youth.
Underage modeling vs door-to-door sales
Which among the two would you do to make a living? I would say neither. If the Golden Peacock-winning Toxic narrated a tale of scammy modeling scouts in a Lithuanian industrial town, the Chilean drama Left Unsaid powerfully exposes the working conditions of salespeople. Christopher Andrews Bring Them Down was as unappealing as its title. The 152-minute long (and meandering) Chinese docu-montage Youth (Homecoming) saw empty halls halfway into its runtime.
A grand salute to Mohammed Rafi
How come Mohammed Rafi does not have the Bharat Ratna yet? Okay, I never lived in his era. Yet, no Bollywood singer from the yesteryears gives me goosebumps like Rafi Saab. The day’s highlight was his centenary celebration and a mini-concert by Sonu Nigam. The versatile vocalist and an ardent Rafi Saab devotee, he discussed the legend’s legacy with Subhash Ghai, Anuradha Paudwal, and Yatindra Mishra. Sharmila Tagore, who was in the audience, was invited on stage and the lady stole the show along with Nigam. Shahid Rafi, son of Mohammed Rafi, made our day by briefly announcing his father’s upcoming biopic to be directed by Umesh Shukla.
The middling bunch
The last day also saw me catch three films. Adilkhan Yerzhanov’s Steppenwolf took me back to the usual barren lands, gunfires, and excessive violence I have seen in his previous films. Despite a superb central act by Berik Aytzhanov, the film didn’t hold my attention. Necmi Sancak’s Ayse follows a depressing trajectory. The film offers a fly-on-the-wall view into an overworked mother’s life rather than a fiction feature with a cohesive plot. Meryam Joobeur’s Who Do I Belong has too many things happening in it and it left me exhausted by the end of it.
Below are the 10 incredible films from IFFI 2025, ranked in the reverse order of my preference:
10. Else
9. Norah
8. The Second Act
7. Left Unsaid
6. Loveable
5. Bound In Heaven
4. Holy Cow
3. Lilies Not For Me
2. Toxic
1. Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others
Festival favorites
Film: Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others
Lead Performer (Male): Clément Faveau (Holy Cow)
Lead Performer (Female): Mahboube Gholami (Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others)
Director: Saulė Bliuvaitė (Toxic)
Screenplay: Will Seefried (Lilies Not for Me)
Dialogues: The Second Act (Quentin Dupieux)
Ensemble Cast: Me, Maryam, The Children And 26 Others
Cinematography: Songri Piao (Bound In Heaven)
Original Score: Theodosia Roussos (Lilies Not For Me)
Production Design: Ella Courvoisier (Holy Cow)
Editing: The Second Act (Quentin Dupieux)
Visual Effects: Florence Thonet, Anne van Nyen (Else)
