Delhi hosts first International Film Festival at Bharat Mandapam

The focus country for this year’s film festival is Spain, with the 2025 film Sirāt by director Oliver Laxe being the first film to be screened at the event.

New Delhi:

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, along with cabinet ministers and film personalities, during the inauguration of the International Film Festival Delhi at Bharat Mandapam. (Ishant Chauhan/HT PHOTO)

The first edition of the International Film Festival Delhi which is being held at Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan, was launched on Wednesday by Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and Delhi minister for art, culture, and languages, Kapil Mishra.

The event honored several actors and public figures associated with the cinema, including Dharmendra, Sharmila Tagore, and Nandamuri Balakrishna, and managing director of PVR cinemas, Ajay Bijli.

“There has been a great demand for this film festival. We’ve seen Delhi in films many times, but now it is time to see films in Delhi. People from across the country and the world come live in Delhi, and the city welcomes them all. It teaches them to persist and to fight for the country. Now the city is moving forward with a new image,” said Gupta at the event.

The focus country for this year’s film festival is Spain, with the 2025 film Sirāt by director Oliver Laxe being the first film to be screened at the event. The film is a road drama set against the backdrop of Southern Morocco’s underground rave circuit, and follows a father and son searching for a missing daughter.

“Delhi is changing, and we are making Delhi a preferred destination for film shooting. In the budget for this year, we have introduced a film policy for the same. Through films one can see the reality of India,” said Mishra.

The film festival is being held from March 25-31 at the Bharat Mandapam in Pragati Maidan. Screenings and events will be held across 14 screens at Bharat Mandapam and multiplex venues operated by PVR INOX.

Apart from public screenings, the festival will also host industry events and discussions across multiple auditoriums and outdoor venues.

The first day also included multiple classical and western dance performances, along with the participation from multiple Indian actors including Arjun Kapoor, Nimrat Kaur, and Vicky Kaushal.

The event was also attended by deputy Delhi CM Parvesh Verma, Delhi enviornment minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Delhi Education minister Ashish Sood, and Lok Sabha members Manoj Tiwari and Kangana Ranaut.