Internet slams IFFI for selecting only male members as jury for Indian Panorama section: ‘Lack of women is glaring’

The internet has slammed the International Film Festival of India (IFFI) for selecting only male jury members for the Indian Panorama section of the event. Taking to Instagram, IFFI shared a post unveiling its jury members. The 56th IFFI will take place in Goa.

IFFI selects only male jury members

Actor Raja Bundela is heading the jury for selected feature films as the chairman. The other jury members include Krishna Hebbale, Kamlesh K Mishra, Malay Ray, Subhash Sehgal, Jadumoni Dutta, Aroon Baksi, Asim Sinha, Ashok Sharan, Sukumar Jatania, BS Basavaraju, Amaresh Chakrabarti, and Napoleon Thanga.

The caption read, “Meet our esteemed jury for the Indian Panorama – Feature Films category at the 56th International Film Festival of India (IFFI), taking place in Goa from 20–28 November 2025.”

“Chaired by the celebrated filmmaker and actor Raja Bundela, this distinguished panel of visionary storytellers and cinematic experts brings their artistry, insight, and dedication to honour the most powerful short films and documentaries from across India,” it also read. Several hashtags, such as IFFI 56, IFFI Goa, IFFI 2025, Indian Panorama, Feature Films, and the jury, were added.

Internet slams IFFI

However, the internet didn’t react kindly to the selection as it didn’t feature any female members. A comment read, “Women filmmakers are busy making the headlines, so they felt a little left out, hence, they made a Manel!!” A person said, “Did you not find any women on the jury in all of India?”

An Instagram user wrote, “Is there a separate panel for women with women-only feature films with an all-women jury? Or… ?” Another person commented, “Lack of women in the jury is glaring, do better!” “Huh? What is this gender discrimination?” asked another person.

All about IFFI

The festival is scheduled to take place from November 20 to 28. It will feature over 240 films from 81 countries. This year’s IFFI will feature 13 world premieres, four international premieres, and 46 Asian premieres. Organisers said they received a record 2,314 film submissions from 127 countries.

The opening film of the festival will be The Blue Trail, directed by Brazilian filmmaker Gabriel Mascaro. Japan has been chosen as the Country of Focus this year. IFFI will also pay tribute to legendary filmmakers and artists, including Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, Ritwik Ghatak, P. Bhanumathi, Bhupen Hazarika, and Salil Chowdhury, by showcasing their most celebrated works.

For the Indian Panorama section, Amaran (Tamil), directed by Rajkumar Periasamy, will open the feature category, while Kakori will open the non-feature category.

Several well-known names from Indian and international cinema will conduct masterclasses during the festival. Among them are Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, Anupam Kher, Ravi Varman, Bobby Deol, Suhasini Maniratnam, Kushboo Sundar, Pete Draper, Sreekar Prasad, and Christopher Charles Corbould.

Films that have won major awards at global festivals such as Cannes, Venice, Berlin, and Locarno will also be screened at IFFI 2025. These include It Was Just an Accident (Palme d’Or, Cannes), Father Mother Sister Brother (Golden Lion, Venice), Dreams (sex Love) (Golden Bear, Berlin), Sirat (Grand Jury Prize, Cannes), The Message (Silver Bear, Berlin), No Other Choice (People’s Choice Award, TIFF), Gloaming in Luomu (Best Film, Busan), and Fiume o Morte (Tiger Award, IFFR). The festival will conclude with a special ceremony honouring Rajinikanth’s remarkable 50-year journey in Indian cinema.