IFFI 2026: Goa's film festival runs 20 to 28 November

Three weeks from now, Panaji changes gear. The 57th International Film Festival of India, IFFI to everyone who goes, opens in Goa on Friday 20 November 2026 and closes on Saturday 28 November, and for those nine days the festival's venues across Panaji run from morning screenings to late masterclasses. If you are thinking of going, this is the week to arrange it, while the stay and the travel are still yours to choose.

The edition, from the festival's own rules

IFFI 2026 is the festival's 57th edition. Its official rules and regulations state the dates, 20 to 28 November 2026, and the place, Goa, and our listing carries the dates as confirmed, with festival venues across Panaji. IFFI is organised by the National Film Development Corporation, under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, in association with the Government of Goa and the Entertainment Society of Goa. It has run since 1952, it is recognised by FIAPF, the international federation of film producers' associations, and this year's poster carries the theme Stories Without Borders.

What the nine days contain

The shape is set in the same official rules. The opening ceremony falls on 20 November and the closing and award ceremony on 28 November. Between them, the rules list a programme of international and Indian films screened at designated festival venues across Goa, masterclasses, In Conversation sessions and workshops, the IFFI Mela, a public cine-fair of cultural programmes and film-themed exhibitions, the WAVES Film Bazaar, the festival's market for filmmakers and buyers, and Creative Minds of Tomorrow, its launchpad for new storytellers. The Indian Panorama is the home strand, Indian feature and non-feature films selected for their cinematic and thematic quality.

The competitions are the festival's spine: an international competition of up to 15 films, a competition for the best debut feature, and the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal for a film reflecting the ideals UNESCO promotes. The best film award carries the Golden Peacock and a cash prize of ₹51,00,000, shared equally between the director and the producer, and the festival also confers its Indian Film Personality of the Year award during the run.

Registration, not the usual ticket platforms

IFFI is not sold the way a concert is sold. There is no BookMyShow or District by Zomato listing to hunt for: delegate registration for this edition is handled through the festival's own site, iffigoa.org, and that is where to start, and where the festival posts its updates as the programme firms up. Our event page links the festival's official rules, which are the document the dates and the programme above are taken from.

On in Goa the same week

The calendar around IFFI is busy, and two listings are worth knowing about if your trip has spare evenings. On Sunday 22 November, Churchill Brothers SC play Mohun Bagan Super Giant in the ISL at the Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, Fatorda, with kickoff at 19:30 IST, a mid-festival football night in the south of the state. As IFFI closes, Royal Enfield Motoverse 2026 runs at Vagator from 27 to 29 November, with early bird tickets from ₹2,599 in Royal Enfield's own announcement, and FC Goa play Kerala Blasters FC at Fatorda on Sunday 29 November at 17:00. A film week, a football match and a motorcycle festival can share one trip without sharing a single venue.

Where to base yourself

For the festival itself, Panaji is the base: the venues are across the city, and it is the search base our hotels page uses for Goa, for the same reason. The Goa guide gathers everything else on the calendar in the state while you are there. Book the stay before the programme lands in full: nine days of delegates in one small capital is exactly the pattern that fills a city quietly, then all at once.

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