The National Indian Film Festival of Australia will expand into Darwin and Alice Springs this year, marking its first annual presence in the Northern Territory with multi-year support from the Territory Government.
Tourism and Events NT and Screen Territory have joined the initiative, giving the festival a base in the Top End and Central Australia as it broadens its national reach. The festival will open in Darwin on 30 April with NT Minister for Arts Hon Jinson Charls, before moving to Alice Springs for an opening event on 11 June.
Marie-Clare Boothby MLA, Minister for Tourism and Hospitality and Minister for Major Events, said, “The National Indian Film Festival is the only festival of its kind in Australia, celebrating connection, community, and cinema in its many forms. The Finocchiaro Government is proud to support the National Indian Film Festival and will continue to back Territory stories and Territory talent.”
“For the Northern Territory Government to back NIFFA across multiple years is a powerful vote of confidence in the future of India–Australia cultural engagement and my team’s vision and hard work”
Festival Director and Founder Anupam Sharma said the agreement reflected long-term confidence in the initiative. “For the Northern Territory Government to back NIFFA across multiple years is a powerful vote of confidence in the future of India–Australia cultural engagement and my team’s vision and hard work. As a film maker who shot one of the first Bollywood films in NT, I am delighted to bring Indian cinema to the Top End and the Red Centre. This is exactly the kind of ambitious bridge-building NIFFA was created to do.”
The Darwin program will begin with a red carpet gala at Deckchair Cinema, followed by screenings at the Museum and Art Gallery of the Northern Territory. The festival will then travel to Alice Springs, where screenings will be held at the Araluen Arts Centre.
Support for the festival has also come from the Indian Consulate General in Perth and local Indian community associations across the Northern Territory. Organisers said an NT Cinema Committee will be formed to guide the festival’s activities over the coming year.
The expansion includes a wider program beyond screenings, with plans for celebrity visits, influencer engagement, community forums and workshops. These activities aim to strengthen cultural exchange, tourism links and opportunities in the screen sector between India and Australia.
The move places Darwin and Alice Springs within a growing India–Australia cultural and screen relationship, as engagement between the two countries continues to increase across migration, education, tourism and the arts.
The Northern Territory chapter of the National Indian Film Festival of Australia runs from 30 April in Darwin to 14 June in Alice Springs, with program details available online.
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