Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2026 unveils award nominations; Saiyaara, Sitaare Zameen Par, Kantara lead the race

The 17th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has announced the official nominations for the IFFM Awards 2026, recognising the finest achievements in Indian cinema and streaming content over the past year. The festival will take place from August 13 to August 23, 2026, supported by the Victorian Government.

The nominations this year showcase the extraordinary depth, diversity, and dynamism of Indian storytelling, highlighting remarkable work from theatrical releases as well as the rapidly evolving OTT landscape. Spanning multiple Indian languages and representing voices from across the country, the nominees reflect a vibrant year for Indian entertainment that has resonated with audiences both at home and around the world.

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Beyond screenings and awards, the festival has also become a global meeting point for filmmakers, artists, audiences, and industry leaders.

The 17th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne will feature an exciting programme of film premieres, special screenings, panel discussions, masterclasses, industry events, cultural celebrations, and the highly anticipated awards ceremony, reaffirming its position as a premier global showcase for Indian cinema.

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Below are the nominations for the 17th edition of IFFM:

Best Film

Haq (Hindi)
Jarann (Marathi)
Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Saiyaara (Hindi)
Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Sharthopor (Bengali)
The Great Shamsuddin Family (Hindi)

Best Indie Film

Ammang Haelbeda (Don't Tell Mother) - (Kannada)
Full Plate - (Hindi)
Kikkran De Phull (Flowers of Acacia) - (Punjabi)
Lala and Poppy - (Hindi)
Mayilaa - Semmalar Annam (Tamil)
Members of the Problematic Family - (Tamil)
Not a Hero - (Assamese, Hindi, English)
Pankhudiyaan (Petals in the Wind) - (Hindi)

Best Director

Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari - System (Hindi)
Chandrasish Ray - Porshi (Bengali)
Mohit Suri - Saiyaara (Hindi)
Ramalingam Gowtham - Members of The Problematic Family (Tamil)
Rima Das - Not a Hero (Assamese, English, Hindi)
Rishab Shetty - Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1 (Kannada)
R.S. Prasanna - Sitaare Zamen Par (Hindi)
Shazia Iqbal – Dhadak 2 (Hindi)

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Best Performance (Male)

Aamir Khan - Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi)
Ahaan Pandey - Saiyaara (Hindi)
Bhuman Bhargav Das - Kein Held (Not a Hero) - (Assamese)
Dulquer Salmaan - Kaantha (Tamil)
Mammootty - KalamKaval: The Venon Beneath (Malayalam)
Ranveer Singh - Dhurandhar (Hindi)
Rishab Shetty - Kantara: A Legend - Chapter 1 (Kannada)
Sanjay Mishra - Vadh 2 (Hindi)

Best Performance (Female)

Aneet Padda - Saiyaara (Hindi)
Kalyani Priyadarshan - Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam)
Kirti Kulhari - Full Plate (Hindi)
Neena Gupta - Vadh 2 (Hindi)
Rajshri Deshpande - Baapya (Marathi)
Rani Mukerji - Mardaani 3 (Hindi)
Rituparna Sengupta - Bela (Bengali)
Yami Gautam Dhar - Haq (Hindi)

Best Series

Baai Tujhyapayi (Marathi)
Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Matka King (Hindi)
Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Sapne Vs Everyone (Hindi)
The Ba***ds of Bollywood (Hindi)
Perfect Family (Hindi)
Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)

Best Performance (Male) - Series

Ambrish Verma - Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Arif Zakaria - Freedom at Midnight: Season 2 (Hindi)
Barun Sobti - Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Kunal Khemu - Single Papa (Hindi)
Paramvir Singh Cheema - Sapne Vs Everyone: Season 2 (Hindi)
Manav Kaul - Real Kashmir Football Club (Hindi)
Manoj Pawa - Perfect Family (Hindi)
Vijay Varma - Matka King (Hindi)

Best Performance (Female) - Series

Anandhi - Arabia Kadali (Telugu)
Huma Qureshi - Maharani: Season 4 (Hindi)
Lakshmi Priyaa Chandramouli - Kuttram Purinshavan: The Guilty One (Tamil)
Mona Singh - Kohrra: Season 2 (Punjabi)
Rasika Dugal - Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Seema Pahwa - Perfect Family (Hindi)
Shefali Shah - Delhi Crime: Season 3 (Hindi)
Swastika Mukherjee - Kaalipotka (Bengali)

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Best Documentary Film

Flying Tigers - Madhusree Dutta (Bengali, English, Mandarin, German, Polish)
Working Girls - Paromita Vohra (Hindi, Tamil, Marathi, Bengali)
Loving Karma - Johnny Burke, Andrew Hinton (English, Monpa, Hindi)
Njaan Revathi (I am Revathi) - P. Abhijith (Tamil)
Breaking The Code - Ben Rekhi, Swetlana (English)
The Gas Station Attendant - Karla Murthy (English)
Music in a Village Named 1PB - Surabhi Sharma (Hindi)
Bride of Aravan - Lesley Branagan (Tamil)

Best Film from The Subcontinent

Sand City - Mahde Hasan (Bangladesh)
Roid - Mejbaur Rahman Sumon (Bangladesh)
Spying Stars - Vimukthi Jayasundara (Sri Lanka)
Ek Mutthi Badal (My Share of Sky) - Sahara Sharma (Nepal)
No Good Men - Shahrbanoo Sadat (Afghanistan)
Goodbye Sisters - Alexander Murphy (Nepal)
Delupi - Mohammad Touqir Islam (Bangladesh)
In The Room - Brishkay Ahmed (Afghanistan)