IFFM Awards 2026 Nominations: Kantara Chapter 1, Saiyaara, Sitaare Zameen Par, Kohrra 2 Lead | Here's The Full List

The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) 2026 is scheduled to take place from August 13 to August 23, with screenings, panels, masterclasses, and cultural events. Organisers have unveiled the official shortlist for the 17th Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) Awards 2026. The event celebrates the best work in Indian cinema and digital streaming platforms from the previous year.

The festival will honour brilliant scripts, superb acting and artistic brilliance across various languages, genres and mediums.

IFFM Awards 2026 Nominations

This year's shortlist highlights the impressive variety of Indian cinema, featuring both big-screen releases and streaming content. The selected works represent multiple regional languages and diverse creative voices. These stories reflect a strong year for Indian entertainment, which found success with global audiences.

The IFFM Awards function as one of the first major honours of the season. They are renowned for setting the tone with diverse nominations across regions, genres and formats. This establishes a benchmark for celebrating the richness of Indian storytelling.

A panel of prominent figures from the Australian film industry and cultural sector will select the winners, ensuring a strict and internationally minded assessment of the shortlisted entries. IFFM functions as a global meeting point, fostering meaningful conversations among filmmakers, artists, audiences and industry leaders.

17th edition of IFFM will feature film premieres, special screenings and panel discussions. The scheduled events also include masterclasses, industry events, cultural celebrations and the highly anticipated awards ceremony.

Here's the full list of IFFM 2025 Awards nominations

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)

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)

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)