Perhaps the organisers of IFFM took last year’s recap to heart, because IFFM 2025 has steered in the opposite direction of previous editions’ celebrity-fuelled romps.
This year’s IFFM feels every bit the ‘capital F’ film festival, a ‘world cinema’ showcase featuring fresh selections from Cannes, Berlinale and Toronto, alongside a back catalogue of Ritwik Ghatak classics.
That’s right, this year has been uncharacteristically quiet (by IFFM standards) on the celebrity appearance front; even chief guest Aamir Khan, attending with new partner Gauri Spratt, had very little to say, approaching his speaking engagements with his trademark modesty and introversion. Called upon to open the festival at Hoyts Docklands, he was a man of few words, musing about the uniting power of film in a simple white kurta, jeans and no shoes.
Aamir Khan’s influence of course, mustn’t be understated – he is an absolute cultural titan whose films are enjoyed as far away as China, South Korea, Turkey, and Japan. He has however, none of the brashness you’d expect a national treasure to have; in both physical and metaphorical stature, he epitomises the celebrity who is smaller in real life.
His iconic professionalism, often labelled ‘perfectionism’, saw IFFM 2025’s big weekend (opening night, Independence Day celebrations, awards night) amazingly run on time and without a hitch, Khan arriving even before most of the audience had. A refreshingly down-to-earth presence, he inspired far less feverish heckling at the IFFM Awards Night and encouraged a more placid, but still eager, crowd along to this year’s IFFM, his film Sitaare Zameen Par screening to two full houses.
Someone who did receive a vociferous welcome, however, was Jaideep Ahlawat, who took out Best Actor for Paatal Lok 2; at the Remitly Dance Competition in Federation Square, he was able to steal the show from festival regular Malaika Arora in just under a minute, outshining her with Bhangra exuberance. Equally, Arvind Swamy, in conversation with Rajeev Masand at Federation Square, had audiences hanging on his every word about reinventing himself after a shocking spinal injury.
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Perennially unlucky beanpole Abhishek Bachchan made an appearance at the IFFM 2025 Awards Night just to collect his career first Best Actor award, which really says more about the Indian film industry’s priorities than his indomitable talent. Appearing three years after receiving a Leadership in Cinema award, the occasion left him visibly emotional, as a man who is very much not, despite the best efforts of his detractors, down for the count.
Comedian Vir Das was easily the coolest person in whatever room he entered; receiving IFFM’s Disruptor award, he playfully described himself as the kaddi pata or side dish amongst all the other stars, but there was the unshakable sense he was the main course in what was a rather lacklustre lineup. An interesting choice to not have the Emmy-winning comedian host the whole do; comedian Sapan Verma, who was flown down under especially for the occasion, must have felt immense pressure to perform with his peer sat just meters away.
Nonetheless, IFFM 2025 didn’t have its usual attention-grabbing clamour, forced now to draw in the punters with the quality and breadth of their films, just like, God forbid, a film festival.
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IFFM 2025’s program delivers a real cinematic showcase, however, from opening night Bengali indie film Baksho Bondi, to centrepiece Manipuri indie film Boong, and closing night Hindi indie film Homebound.
Okay, so there’s a lot of indie films rather than blockbuster Bollywood moments at IFFM 2025. But is that such a bad thing? IFFM’s true strength lies in uncovering rare filmic gems through a thoughtfully curated program, just as this year’s catalogue demonstrates – spanning 31 different languages, IFFM 16 is a testament to the ingenuity and humanity of Indian cinema, and, as Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange puts it, the ‘myriad of realities, dreams, and complexities of India and the subcontinent’.
That may well be the case, if only some of the films were easier to attend; offbeat Tamil dramedy Angammal and ode to street theatre Nukkad Naatak, two highly anticipated films, only have a single session in a frustratingly late weeknight time slot, a bizarre scheduling choice for the Australian Premieres of these award-winning films.
But for those prepared to brave the cold and late nights, IFFM 2025 will surely deliver some satisfying and moving cinematic treats.
