Japan will be the country of focus this year, and besides film packages from Australia and Spain, it will be shown under the newly introduced partner and spotlight countries. The festival will present 15 competitive and curated segments. International competition, best debut feature film of a director, ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal and special segments Macabre Dream, Docu Montage, Experimental Films, UNICEF and restored classics.

The festival will honour and celebrate legends like Guru Dutt, Raj Khosla, P. Bhanumathi, Ritwik Ghatak, Salil Chowdhury and Bhupen Hazarika.  The opening film of Indian Panorama is the Tamil film Amaran, directed by Rajkumar Periyaswamy, and non non-feature film, Kakori. In all, 25 feature films, 20 non-feature films, and five debut feature films will be screened in the Indian Panorama and New Horizons sections.

Women in Cinema will showcase films directed by 50 women filmmakers, including debut filmmakers.  The best five debut directors of Indian feature films will get Rs. 5 lakhs each and a certificate. Five finalists of the best web series will get Rs 10 lakhs and a certificate. The Creative Minds of Tomorrow (CMOT) section has been gaining popularity during the last few years. Out of the 799 participants, 124 were selected, covering 13 filmmaking crafts. The 48-hour filmmaking challenge makes the programme even more exciting.

Waves Film Bazaar, Waves Co-production Market and Waves Pavilions and Knowledge Series have attracted delegations from seven countries, providing wide opportunities to film producers, creative people, technology companies, financiers and tourism departments.

Masterclasses, panel discussions, and interactive programmes are the other highlights featuring Christopher Charles, Anupam Kher, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Aamir Khan, Khushboo Sundar, Suhasini Maniratnam, Sreekar Prasad, Ravi Varman, Bobby Deol, and others.

IFFI venues for films and events are at Inox Panjim, Inox Porvorim, Z Square, Samrat Ashok, Ravindra Bhavan, and open-air screenings at Fatorda, Miramar and Anjuna beaches. IFFI, which started in 1952, is the most significant film event in Asia organised by the I&B Ministry. It serves as a creative platform for fostering cultural understanding through cinema. NFDC now manages Waves Bazaar, formerly Film Bazaar at IFFI.

At the closing ceremony of IFFI, superstar Rajnikant will be felicitated on completing 50 years in the film industry. Padmabhushan Nandamuri Balakrishna will also be felicitated at IFFI for his contribution to Indian cinema.