IFFM Short Film Competition 2025 Theme: Our Collective Home
As we celebrated the 16th year of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, we reflected on the spaces we share – our communities, environments, and planet. This year’s theme, “Our Collective Home”, encouraged filmmakers to explore what connects us, the places we care about, and the people we share them with.
We were thrilled to receive nearly 1,400 submissions from over 100 countries, each offering a unique perspective on belonging, responsibility, and togetherness.
Our distinguished judges, Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari and Shoojit Sircar, selected the winners from an exceptional pool of innovative and creative short films.
✨ The winners of the IFFM Short Film Competition 2025 are:
A big congratulations to our winners and heartfelt thanks to all the filmmakers who shared their inspiring stories with us!
Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari is an Indian Filmmaker, Writer and Producer. A gold medallist in Applied Arts from Sophia Polytechnic, Mumbai, she spent over a decade in the advertising world telling stories for the biggest brands in India and South East Asia. Her acclaimed movies, short films and web series, Nil Battey Sannata, Amma Kanakku, Bareilly ki Barfi, Panga, Ghar ki Murgi, Ankahi (Anthology), and Faadu, have won several Indian and International awards for her layered craft and in-depth understanding of human psychology. Her debut novel, 'Mapping Love' was widely appreciated. Ashwiny was selected twice (in 2020 and 2024) by Forbes Magazine as 'A self-made woman of India'. Having built a repertoire for creating stories, Ashwiny co-founded a storytelling company, Earthsky Pictures, to develop stories with leading studio partners and nurture storytellers. She co-produced Break-Point, Tarla, Bus Karo, and Bawaal, which she also co-wrote. With her initiative 'Roots', she is documenting untold stories of Indian art and design. Making her own path with her simple, mindful outlook, she is a conscious knowledge traveller, design researcher and seeker for life.
With roots that date back to his street theatre days, Shoojit Sircar has carved a distinct place in the world of contemporary Indian cinema. His films, their characters, and the cinematic worlds he builds reflect rooted, real, and uniquely human shades of life.
His directorial debut, Yahaan, focused on the turmoil faced by the Kashmiri people and won him the Best Director Award at the Osian Film Festival in 2005. He followed it up with Vicky Donor, a film that brought the taboo topic of sperm donation into dining table conversation. Vicky Donor went on to win three National Awards, including ‘Best Entertainer of the Year’.
He then directed the hard-hitting political thriller Madras Café, shedding light on one of the most tumultuous periods in the subcontinent’s history — the Sri Lankan civil war. A year later, he brought audiences the much-loved slice-of-life drama Piku, a father–daughter relationship comedy featuring Amitabh Bachchan and Deepika Padukone, which went on to win over 18 awards across India.
As a producer, he presented Pink — a film that became more than just cinema; it was termed a movement. With October, Sircar offered a poetic, soulful, and deeply personal take on love. The absurdist satire Gulabo Sitabo delivered an unapologetic commentary on human greed, while Sardar Udham, a historical drama featuring Vicky Kaushal as the revolutionary Udham Singh, brought powerful storytelling to the screen once again.
In 2024, his film I Want To Talk was released, adding yet another compelling story to his filmography.
Beyond directing, Shoojit Sircar has also backed quality cinema as a producer, supporting critically appreciated Bengali features such as Aparajita Tumi and Open Tee Bioscope.
As an ad filmmaker, Sircar has earned international acclaim — most notably for the Cannes award-winning Lead India campaign, which featured some of India's most respected icons. His advertising credits include notable campaigns for Gujarat Tourism, Airtel, Coca-Cola, Tata Sky, and Wrigley's Doublemint. His recent commercials — Mirinda #ReleaseThePressure and All Out #MujheSabNahinPata — both offered strong commentaries on modern parenthood and went on to garner millions of views on social media.
With a resolute passion for quality storytelling, Shoojit Sircar continues to be one of the most prolific and gifted voices in Indian cinema — a filmmaker whose work audiences consistently await, time and again.