The Habitat Film Festival (HFF), organized by India Habitat Centre, has carved a niche for itself as one of the premier festivals of Indian Cinema and as Delhi’s finest. What makes the festival unique is its dedicated focus on Pan-Indian cinema, bringing the best of regional and independent Indian cinema to the film lovers of Delhi. Additionally, each year, the festival honours the work of a pathbreaking director, actor, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, or a film technician who pushes the boundaries and enriches the medium.

In the past, notable figures such as Mrinal Sen, Girish Kasaravalli, Om Puri, Sudhir Mishra, Revathi, Sreekar Prasad, Rituparno Ghosh, Waheeda Rehman, Kamal Haasan, Aparna Sen and K.G. George have been honoured through retrospectives of their selected works.

This edition, the spotlight is shifting to the influential filmmaker Kumar Shahani, whose passing has left a void in the film world. A student of Ritwik Ghatak and a contemporary of Mani Kaul and KK Mahajan at the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), Kumar Shahani brought a distinctive Indian aesthetic to the Indian New Wave.

The festival also has a documentary section and a short film section, both of which attract a dedicated following every edition. Screenings at the festival are followed by interactions with directors, producers and actors, providing cinema lovers with an immersive festival experience. Over the years, the integration of a robust collateral event calendar featuring panel discussions, filmmaking workshops and masterclasses, book launches and exhibitions of film memorabilia, has provided festival goers and avid cinephiles a wider range of options at HFF.

We are excited to have you join us at the 16 th edition of Habitat Film Festival.