Overview
- The festival replaced its indoor inauguration with a city parade from the ESG office to Kala Academy, headlined by the CBC’s ‘Bharat Ek Soor’ featuring 100-plus folk artists.
- Gabriel Mascaro’s The Blue Trail opened the festival with a premiere screening at INOX Panjim.
- The rebranded Waves Film Bazaar opened with expanded sections, a reported $20,000 grant announcement, and a CinemAI Hackathon run in collaboration with LTIMindtree.
- Organisers report a lineup of over 240 films from more than 80 countries with world, international and Asian premieres, alongside masterclasses and centenary tributes to Indian cinema icons.
- Telugu star Nandamuri Balakrishna was felicitated at the opening for 50 years in cinema, and Union minister L. Murugan said Rajinikanth will be honoured at the closing ceremony on November 28.