IFP marks its fifteenth year with a festival that brings its Creativity × Culture ethos to life across film, music, design, writing, photography, advertising, podcasting, gaming, tech, food, and digital storytelling. As one of Mumbai’s only multi-disciplinary creative weekends, the festival returns to Mehboob Studios with a line-up that cuts across genres, formats, and artistic voices. Across two days, IFP will host conversations, masterclasses, performances, and cultural experiences that reflect how creators think, collaborate, and express today. Season 15 promises a vibrant mix of ideas, talent, and creative energy, all unfolding within one shared space.
Film and Streaming
Some of the most exciting conversations at the festival under this category include 20 Questions: How I Made My First Feature (Aranya Sahay, Shazia Iqbal), Vaibhav Munjal Podcast LIVE ft. Siddhant Chaturvedi (Siddhant Chaturvedi with Vaibhav Munjal), Being the Future of Indian Cinema (Adarsh Gourav, Vishal Jethwa, Nitanshi Goel, Zahan Kapoor, 10 Things We Learned While Contemporising Indian History (Hansal Mehta, Sameer Nair moderated by Siddharth Basu), and Behind The Scene: I Am Not an Actor (Aditya Kriplani, Nawazuddin Siddiqui). Sessions on craft and storytelling include How I Create Magic on the Editing Table (Namrata Rao with Kaira), AMA // Documenting Geniuses to Directing Madness (Robert B. Weide). The category continues with Craft, Creativity, and ‘Absolute Cinema’ (Vasan Bala, Hardik Mehta), Bringing Back Old-School Romance ft. Gustaakh Ishq (Vijay Varma, Fatima Sana Shaikh with Swati Chopra), and the marquee session Becoming Arjun (Abhishek Bachchan, Shoojit Sircar). Shahid Kapoor will take the stage for a session centred on his craft and his connection to cinema. Rounding off the line-up are Redefining the Everyday Heroine (Parvathy Thiruvothu, Richa Chadha), Making of a Masala Musical ft. Christmas Karma (Gurinder Chadha), and Craft, Creativity, and Sculpting Realistic Characters (Adil Hussain, Neeraj Kabi).
Abhishek Bachchan on being part of IFP Season 15, “Becoming Arjun is a session I am genuinely excited about. Arjun from I Want to Talk is a character who has stayed with me, and it will be great fun to sit with Shoojit Sircar and pull apart how we built him. IFP has always been a space where creators feel at home, and it’s great to be part of that community this year.”
Music
The Music line-up hits the IFP stage with a sharp mix of icons, innovators, and new-age voices. The weekend opens with The Future of Music with Rolling Stone India (Mary Ann Alexander, Akshath, Dhanji moderated by Shamani Joshi), followed by Making of Kashi to Kailash (Raja Kumari with Mae Thomas). The programming dives deeper with Getting Fusion Right (Hariharan, Akshay Hariharan with Tarsame Mittal) and Bars from the Heart (Dino James with Agam Walia).
Culture
The Culture line-up looks at how ideas, trends, and everyday conversations shape the world around us. The sessions include Nuclear Takes // How Culture Gets Shaped (Anurag Minus Verma, Ria Chopra, Chirag Thakkar), Maya and the Making of Modern Lore (Anand Gandhi, Zain Memon).
Chirag Thakkar on speaking at IFP Season 15, “IFP has always brought different creative worlds together, which is why I’m excited to be here this year. Talking about how culture shifts, online or offline, feels especially relevant right now, and I’m glad I get to be part of that conversation on a stage that welcomes so many perspectives together.”
Digital
The Digital line-up brings together creators who shape conversations online with sessions such as Social Media Vigilantes | Consider Me De-influenced (Dr Tanaya Narendra, Aakash Banerjee, Dr Sid Warrier, Dr Sivaranjini Santosh, Madri Kakoti moderated by Meghnad S) and How To Create Compelling Video Essays (Ashrish Choudhury, India in Pixels).
Literature
The Literature line-up spans fiction, translation, and contemporary writing. Sessions include Why the Poor Don’t Kill Us × Meet the Savarnas (Manu Joseph, Ravikant Kisana), Behind The Book: Peeli Chhatari Wali Ladki (Uday Prakash moderated by Himanshu Bajpai), Kahaani Nayiwali Hindi Ki (Divya Prakash Dubey, Nilotpal Mrinal), and From the Translator’s Diary (Rakshanda Jalil, Akhil Katyal moderated by Naimta Dubey).
Performing Arts, Design, Photography
The Performing Arts line-up includes Poets of the Future Past ft. Kabir and Khusrau (Ajitesh Gupta, Himanshu Bajpai, Pragya Sharma). The Design & Art segment features How I Designed the Team India Jersey (Aaquib Wani) alongside the Dolby Creator Lab power talk. Photography stays a festival favourite with deep dives including Photographing the Wild and How I Take Breathtaking Drone Shots (Aarzoo Khurana, Sadaa, Manish Deo, Vishal Dayama).
Food
The Food category explores culinary storytelling through Food of the Future Past // Reviving Old Recipes (Ranveer Brar in conversation with Kunal Vijayakar), a session that looks at flavours, memory, and rediscovering forgotten dishes.
The festival will also host the 50 Hour Challenge Award Ceremonies across filmmaking, music, design, photography, and writing, celebrating standout work created within the iconic 50-hour format.
Ranveer Brar on his upcoming session at IFP Season 15, “I’ve always been drawn to the stories behind things, where they start, how they change, and the memories that shape them. Food of the Future Past lets me explore those layers almost like stepping into different roles, revisiting what we grew up with, left behind, and now want to return to. There’s a quiet poetry in that journey.”
Over the years, IFP has brought together thousands of creative minds, hosting over 1400 speakers, 1.2 Lakh participants, and representation from 8 countries, marking its place among the world’s largest festivals for creative enthusiasts. Over the past 14 years, IFP has hosted prolific creators such as Joseph Gorden Levitt, Tom Schulman (Academy Award Winner, Dead Poets Society), Alexander Payne (Academy Award Winner), Asif Kapadia (Academy Award Winner), Mira Nair (Academy Award Nominee), Ira Glass (Podcaster, Journalist, This American Life), Naseeruddin Shah, Pankaj Tripathi, Javed Akhtar, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao, Imran Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Shabana Azmi, Vicky Kaushal, Taapsee Pannu, Sonakshi Sinha, Vijay Varma, Kartik Aryan, Bhumi Pednekar, Vikrant Massey, Adarsh Gourav, R. Balki, Sriram Raghavan, Vikramaditya Motwane, Shakun Batra.
The festival has something special for everyone, from thought-provoking discussions to endearing experiences. So, mark your calendars for November 29th and 30th, and be part of this Everything Creativity x Culture festival!
To know more about the festival schedule, click on the link: https://ifp.world/festival-schedule/
