55th International Film Festival of India

The 55th International Film Festival of India took place from 20 to 28 November 2024 at Panaji, Goa. The theme of this year's festival is 'Young Filmmakers – The Future is Now', so this year a new section and award category 'Best Debut Director of Indian Feature Film' has been introduced in the festival to encourage young blood. The award is a certificate and cash prize of ₹5 lakh in recognition of young directorial talent from India. The festival screened over 180 international films from 81 countries, including 15 world premieres.

On 11 November it was announced that Ashutosh Gowariker an Indian filmmaker served as the chairperson of the international jury, and Phillip Noyce, an Australian film and television director was the recipient of Satyajit Ray Lifetime Achievement Award. 15 films competed for Golden Peacock award in main competition. Australia was designated as the 'Country of Focus' at the festival, with seven Australian films screened, highlighting the country's rich storytelling traditions, including indigenous and contemporary narratives. The festival honoured the 100th anniversary of four legendary figures in Indian cinema, actor–director Raj Kapoor, filmmaker Tapan Sinha, Telugu star Akkineni Nageswara Rao, and singer Mohammed Rafi, through a dedicated tribute program.

The festival opened with Australian film on the life of the British pop star Robbie Williams, Better Man by Michael Gracey. Abhishek Banerjee and Bhumi Pednekar hosted the opening ceremony which was telecast live on YouTube.

The festival closed on 28 November with Dry Season by Bohdan Sláma. Lithuanian drama film Toxic by Saulė Bliuvaitė, was awarded the best film award, the Golden Peacock. Romanian director Bogdan Mureșanu was awarded the Best Director award for the Romanian historical tragicomedy film The New Year That Never Came.