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The India Film Project (IFP) Festival is returning with its 15th season this November. At this leading world festival, art, ideas, and imagination meet in the most unexpected ways. This November 29th and 30th, the beloved creative festival returns to Mehboob Studios for a two-day celebration packed with stories, performances, workshops, interesting conversations, and more. The festival is pulling out all stops to make Season 15 its most memorable edition yet. At the heart of IFP lies its iconic 50 Hour Creative Challenges, which drew an overwhelming response from creators across six categories this year. With over 40k participants from 350+ cities and 23 countries, the challenges continue to embody IFP’s spirit of collaboration and creative exploration. The jury for this milestone edition brings together some of India’s most celebrated names across cinema, design and art, including Dibakar Banerjee (Filmmaker), Hariharan (Padma Shri Awardee, Musician), Sheeba Chaddha (Actress), Bilal Siddiqi (Screenwriter and Novelist), Santhy Balachandran (Writer), Ravi Jadhav (Writer, Director, Producer, Actor), Kanu Behl (Filmmaker), Mukesh Chhabra (Casting Director and Filmmaker), Gajesh Mitkari (Designer, Founder of Studio Modak), and more. Reflecting on IFP’s incredible journey, Ritam Bhatnagar, Founder of IFP, said, “What began as a small dormitory idea shared among a few passionate creators has now grown into one of the world’s leading celebrations of creativity and culture. Fifteen years later, IFP continues to be that space where creative people come together, experiment, and grow. This milestone year is our way of celebrating that journey, from one tiny idea to a global festival that inspires millions of people to create, share, and dream bigger every year.” Dibakar Banerjee, National Award-winning filmmaker, member of the Filmmaking Jury, shared, “Storytelling has always been about curiosity, and IFP thrives on that. As a filmmaker, I’ve always believed that cinema must surprise you. Fifteen years in, IFP is continuing the good work in promoting curiosity. That’s what makes it so special. Loving being a jury this year.” Versatile actor Sheeba Chaddha, member of the Performing Arts Jury, added, “There’s something truly joyful about IFP, and it’s always a pleasure to associate with the team, this time as a jury member. What I love the most about this festival is how it empowers artists to express and evolve without limits. As an actor, I’m drawn to spaces that let artists nurture their craft without fear or formula, and IFP has built that beautifully over the years. I’m excited to see what this milestone edition brings to the table.” Over the years, IFP has brought together thousands of creative minds, hosting over 1400 speakers, 1.2L million participants, and representation from 8 countries, marking its place among the world’s largest festivals for creative enthusiasts. Over the past 14 years, IFP has hosted prolific creators such as Joseph Gorden Levitt, Tom Schulman (Academy Award Winner, Dead Poets Society), Alexander Payne (Academy Award Winner), Asif Kapadia (Academy Award Winner), Mira Nair (Academy Award Nominee), and Ira Glass (Podcaster, Journalist, This American Life). Prolific names from Bollywood include Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Tripathi, Javed Akhtar, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Imran Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shabana Azmi, Vicky Kaushal, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Kartik Aaryan, Bhumi Pednekar, Vikrant Massey, Adarsh Gourav, R. Balki, Sriram Raghavan, Vikramaditya Motwane, and Shakun Batra.
