Goans will be able to attend the 57th International Film Festival of India through day passes this year, while the Entertainment Society of Goa will revive its Film Finance Scheme and release pending payments to local filmmakers before the festival begins, Chief Minister Pramod Sawant said after an ESG board meeting on Wednesday.
Sawant announced the day-pass facility after chairing the 20th meeting of the ESG board and reviewing preparations for the festival. The arrangement is intended to allow residents to experience IFFI without requiring access for the entire event, which will be held in Goa from November 20 to 28.
The chief minister also said the ESG would revive its Film Finance Scheme for Goan filmmakers. According to Sawant, pending amounts owed to local filmmakers would be released within the next 10 days, before the start of IFFI. “The pending amount to Goan filmmakers will be given. The funds will be released to them within the next 10 days, before Iffi begins,” he said.
The announcement places access for local audiences and support for the state’s film community alongside the festival’s operational preparations. Sawant said Goan filmmaker Aditya Jambhale would be felicitated at IFFI along with other Goan directors for their achievements. Jambhale is a two-time national award-winning film director, writer and actor from Goa.
The festival’s curtain-raiser is scheduled for November 12 and will be organised by the National Film Development Corporation and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The final number of screens for this year’s edition has not yet been decided, according to Sawant.
Last year, six screens were added to expand IFFI’s reach beyond the main festival venues. These included venues in Ponda and Margao, while open-air screenings were held at Miramar, Vagator and Ravindra Bhavan in Margao. The additional venues enabled audiences in different parts of Goa to access festival screenings, although the state government has not yet announced the complete venue plan for the 2026 edition.
The day-pass details, including their availability and access arrangements, were not specified in the announcement. The final screen count and venue schedule also remain pending. The next stated milestones are the release of pending filmmaker payments within 10 days, the November 12 curtain-raiser and the festival’s scheduled run from November 20 to 28.
