Australia's first-ever National Indian Film Festival can to and end this week. Following an unprecedented seven-city tour that included Sydney, Canberra, Gold Coast, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, and Melbourne, the festival came to an end on March 2, 2025, with a Red Carpet Gala and the closing night screening of Tannishtha Chatterjee's film Roam Rome Mein at Murdoch University in Perth. Superboys of Malegaon, directed by Zoya Akhtar and starring Reema Kagti, won the Best Film award at the first edition of the National Indian Film Festival of Australia. 

A look at the winners

Anuj Gulati's WingMan (The Universal Irony of Love) took home the Best Indie Feature Film award, while renowned filmmaker Goutam Ghose's Parikrama took home the Best International Indian Film honour. Director Ananth Narayan Mahadevan's The Man Who Hurls News took home the Best Documentary (Short) award. Valavan Velmurugan's Best Short Film for The Last Show and The Garmentologist's Best Short Film: Special Mention were among the other winners. The recipient of a post-production completion grant was Mistyby Raja Chatterjee. Badrappa Gajula's Maa Oori Ramayanam took home the Best Documentary Feature award.

What did Reema Kagti say?

Reema Kagti’s Superboys of Malegaon won the best film. "I would like to thank the National Indian Film Festival of Australia for choosing Superboys of Malegaon as the Best Film and for showcasing it in cities across Australia, helping the film reach a wider audience. We are glad that festival audiences resonated with this story of dreams and determination," said Kagti.

What is NIFFA?

With the opening of NIFFA Regional, which will bring Indian cinema to regional Australia for the first time, and encore screenings of a few films at Dendy Cinemas in the upcoming weeks, the festival will continue to celebrate. For those who were not aware, the NIFFA winners were announced by the all-female Nomination Council, Festival Directors Anupam Sharma and Peter Castaldi.

About Superboys of Malegaon

Superboys of Malegaon depicts an inspirational journey full of hardships, emotions, and challenges while celebrating the love of filmmaking. The film has received praise for its narrative, performances, and storytelling, inspiring and moving viewers. The film features Adarsh Gourav, Vineet Kumar Singh and Shashank Arora in lead roles.