Mumbai, October 07 2026: IFP is back for its 16th season, returning to Mehboob Studios, Mumbai, on October 24 and 25, 2026, for two days dedicated to creativity, culture and the people shaping both.
What began in 2011 as a 50-hour filmmaking challenge has, over 16 years, grown into a meeting ground for creators across disciplines, generations and geographies. As IFP gears up for Season 16, the festival has announced the jury for its celebrated creative challenges, bringing together filmmakers, musicians, writers, artists, designers, photographers and storytellers with distinctive bodies of work across their respective fields.
For the Filmmaking Challenge, the jury includes Raam Reddy, Pushkar-Gayatri, Karthik Subbaraj and Anusha Rizvi, bringing together filmmakers and storytellers known for their work across cinema and streaming.
The Music Challenge will be judged by Khalid Ahamed, Kanishk Seth, Kavita Seth, Uday Benegal, Nucleya and Dabzee, representing a wide spectrum of sounds and sensibilities across independent, contemporary and popular music. For the Writing Challenge, the jury includes Karan Anshuman, Abhay Koranne, Sumit Roy, Rashmi Bansal, Tara Khandelwal, Chiki Sarkar and Prayaag Akbar, representing screenwriting, literature, publishing and storytelling. The Design Challenge jury features Muhammed Sajid, Amrit Pal Singh, Omkar Patil, Shayak Sen and Mira F. Malhotra, while the Photography Challenge brings together Joseph Radhik, Vineet Vohra, Rid Burman and Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist Sanna Irshad Mattoo. The Performing Arts Challenge will be judged by Tess Joseph, Akarsh Khurana, Aalok Shrivastav, Kena Shree and Aleena, bringing together perspectives spanning casting, theatre, poetry, writing and performance.
At the heart of IFP have always been its challenges, built around a simple but enduring idea: give creators a deadline, a platform and the push to make something they may otherwise keep waiting to begin. Over the years, these challenges have grown alongside IFP itself, expanding beyond filmmaking into multiple creative disciplines while continuing to spotlight emerging voices.
Speaking about IFP entering its 16th season, Ritam Bhatnagar, Founder, IFP, said, “When we started IFP 16 years ago, it was never with the thought of building a festival of this scale. It began with a simple belief that there were incredibly talented people everywhere who just needed a reason, a deadline and a platform to create. What has stayed with me through all these years is watching people who first came to IFP as participants return as professionals, collaborators, speakers and sometimes even jury members. In many ways, IFP has grown up with its community. Season 16 feels deeply personal because while so much around us has changed, that fundamental excitement of making something and putting it out into the world has remained exactly the same.”
Talking about being part of the IFP Season 16 jury, Pushkar-Gayatri shared, “We are excited to serve on the jury for IFP Season 16. Having spent our careers as writers, directors, creative producers and showrunners, we understand how much courage it takes to place one’s work before an audience. IFP is rare in the way it gathers creators from films, music, literature, design, comedy, photography and beyond under a single roof, honouring the craft in each. To engage with this body of work, and to help recognise voices that deserve to be heard, is both a responsibility and a pleasure we accept with sincerity.”
Season 16 will continue that spirit through conversations, workshops, performances, creative challenges and experiences, bringing established creative voices and the next generation of creators together under one roof.
From a 50-hour filmmaking challenge that began in 2011 to a creative platform that has brought together creators from across the world, IFP enters its 16th season with the same idea at its heart: make something, put it out into the world and see where it takes you.
IFP Season 16 will take place on October 24 and 25, 2026, at Mehboob Studios, Mumbai.
Stay Tuned As The Festival Schedule, Along With Its Line-up Of Speakers And Sessions, Will Be Announced Soon!