Curtain Up on a Bigger Canvas: TIFA 2025 Poised to Elevate Young Filmmakers and Content Creators

Bangalore, November 5, 2025: The Teen Indie Film Awards (TIFA) 2025, hosted by RV University’s School of Film, Media & Creative Arts in Bengaluru, is set to become an even more powerful stage for young filmmakers and content creators aged 13 to 25. Building on its recent growth, TIFA has quickly established itself as the city’s third-largest film festival after BIFFES and BISFF.

At its core, TIFA is not just a festival, but a launchpad where budding filmmakers meet industry. At the curtain raiser of TIFA 2025, H. N. Narahari Rao, President of Suchitra Film Society, unveiled the festival catalogue and teaser. The event also featured the screening of select films representing four continents and spanning four genres, offering a glimpse into the diversity and creative spirit of this year’s festival.

This year, the five-day festival is thoughtfully structured around key thematic zones, moving beyond a standard film celebration: Media Day (focused on journalism and media), AVGC Day (Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, and Comics), Regional Cinema Day (Karnataka as state in focus) and the Awards Night.

The esteemed jury panel features prominent names, including Television and Film Actor Amit Behl; Editor - International at TV9, R Sridharan; Assamese filmmaker and critic Utpal Datta; CEO and Founder of The Bridge, Amanda Groom; and Founder of Custard Apple Pictures, M.N. Gujari, Author, Ed Vollans, among others.

TIFA 2025 is deepening its focus on industry connections through partnerships with leading media houses and film production companies. Major players in the realm of Film and Media, such as Frameboxx, Hombale Films, TV9, among others will host dedicated sessions and masterclasses throughout the festival.

The festival will host a series of high-stake competitions designed to discover emerging voices in Film, Media & Creative Arts, including the AVGC Hackathon, RJ Hunt, and The Talent Hunt for Emerging Filmmakers of Tomorrow (THEFT), a thrilling 48-hour filmmaking challenge where winners stand a chance to be launched by Hombale Films.

"At 300+ submissions from 40 countries and six continents, TIFA, in its fourth edition, has truly emerged as India’s largest student-led global film festival dedicated to teenage and young adult filmmakers” said Prof. Piyush Roy, Founding Dean of the School of Liberal Arts and Sciences at RV University. "With TIFA, we are creating a clear pathway from campus to screen, from idea to audience, and from young talent straight into professional careers."

“With finalists having been selected across several genres – fiction, documentary, experimental and animation – and from different regions of Karnataka, India and the world, the festival is also emphasising its regional, national, and global breadth. TIFA will feature an opening film from North East India and has a clear roadmap for a future roadshow in Guwahati to further extend the platform’s national reach will seek to underline themes of childhood and diversity in the youth experience from across the world,” said Vedant Panamgipalli, 3rd Year BSc. Filmmaking Student at the School of Film, Media and Creative Arts and Festival Director of TIFA 2025.