The Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) has officially unveiled its power-packed nominations for the 2025 edition, celebrating the best in Indian cinema and streaming content. Now in its 16th year, IFFM stands as the largest celebration of Indian film outside India, and this year’s award contenders reflect the depth, diversity, and dynamism of Indian storytelling across languages and platforms.

Supported by the Victorian Government, the festival will run from August 14 to 24, with the highly anticipated NAB IFFM Awards Night set for August 15, honouring cinematic excellence across film and OTT categories. Winners will be selected by an esteemed jury comprising some of the most respected names in Australian cinema and cultural landscape, including Garth Davis, director of Dev Patel–Nicole Kidman’s LION, and Theatre Director and Film Producer Nadia Tass.

With projects considered from June 15, 2024 to June 14, 2025, and OTT nominations restricted to platforms available in Australia, this year’s lineup spans mainstream superhits, indie revelations, regional gems, and binge-worthy series.

Among the most-nominated films and shows are Superboys of Malegaon, Maharaj, and L2: Empuraan. On the streaming front, Paatal Lok 2, CA Topper, and Manorathangal dominate the series categories.

Best Film

• Homebound

• Kalki 2898 AD

• L2: Empuraan

• Maharaj

• Meiyazhagan

• Stree 2

• Superboys of Malegaon

Best Indie Film

• Angammal

• Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox)

• Boong

• Feminichi Fathima (Feminist Fathima)

• Humans in the Loop

• Village Rockstars 2

• We Are Faheem and Karun

Best Actor (Male)

• Abhishek Bachchan – I Want to Talk

• Adarsh Gourav – Superboys of Malegaon

• Gugun Kipgen – Boong

• Ishaan Khatter – Homebound

• Junaid Khan – Maharaj

• Manoj Bajpayee – The Fable

• Mohanlal – L2: Empuraan

• Vishal Jethwa – Homebound

Best Actor (Female)

• Anjali Sivaraman – Bad Girl

• Bhanita Das – Village Rockstars 2

• Geetha Kailasam – Angammal

• Kareena Kapoor Khan – The Buckingham Murders

• Shamla Hamza – Feminichi Fathima (Feminist Fathima)

• Sharmila Tagore – Puratawn

• Shraddha Kapoor – Stree 2

• Tillotama Shome – Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox)

Best Director

• Aranya Sahay – Humans in the Loop

• Lakshmipriya Devi – Boong

• Neeraj Ghaywan – Homebound

• Onir – We Are Faheem and Karun

• Reema Kagti – Superboys of Malegaon

• Rima Das – Village Rockstars 2

• Varsha Bharath – Bad Girls

• Vipin Radhakrishnan – Angammal

Best Web Series

• Black Warrant

• Gyaarah Gyaarah

• Khauf

• Kota Factory Season 3

• Manorathangal

• Paatal Lok Season 2

• Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam

• Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper

Best Actor (Female) – Web Series

• Ananya Panday – Call Me Bae

• Monika Panwar – Khauf

• Nimisha Sajayan – Dabba Cartel

• Parvathy Thiruvothu – Manorathangal

• Rasika Dugal – Mirzapur 3

• Shabana Azmi – Dabba Cartel

• Tillotama Shome – Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper

Best Actor (Male) – Web Series

• Abhishek Kumar – Thalaivettiyaan Paalayam

• Ali Fazal – Mirzapur Season 3

• Jaideep Ahlawat – Paatal Lok Season 2

• Jitendra Kumar – Kota Factory Season 3

• Mammootty – Manorathangal

• Manav Kaul – Tribhuvan Mishra: CA Topper

• Zahaan Kapoor – Black Warrant