The 19th edition of the Mumbai International Film Festival (MIFF) concluded on Sunday with the presentation of 17 awards celebrating excellence in documentary, short fiction and animation filmmaking.
The festival’s highest honour, the Golden Conch for Best International Documentary Film, was awarded to the Polish documentary Silver, while Iranian short fiction film Under The Snow and German animation Maya’s Song won the Silver Conch awards in the international short fiction and animation categories, respectively.
In the national competition, Armstrong from Angaalamman Temple Street won the Silver Conch for Best Animation Film, Small Clouds was adjudged Best Indian Short Fiction Film, and Waai secured the Best Indian Documentary Film award. Other major honours included the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize for The Hug of Emptiness, the IDPA Award for Best Student Film for The Old Bull Knows, or Once Knew, and the Dadasaheb Phalke Chitranagari Award for Best Debut Director, which went to Pooja Tolani for Raaza.
Addressing the closing ceremony, Maharashtra Governor Jishnu Dev Varma said MIFF had evolved into a global movement celebrating artistic excellence and meaningful storytelling. Referring to the World Audio Visual and Entertainment Summit (WAVES), he said the initiative reflected India’s ambition to become a global hub for the creative economy under the vision of “Create in India, Create for the World”. He also called for the responsible use of artificial intelligence and stressed the need to protect filmmakers’ intellectual property rights.
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Prabhat, said the strong audience response reaffirmed the relevance of documentaries, short fiction and animation films.
NFDC Managing Director Prakash Magdum revealed that MIFF 2026 received 1,459 film entries from around the world, with competition and non-competition sections featuring films from 46 countries. He said the festival showcased over 83 hours of screenings across 24 curated sections, including Oscar Winners, Best of Fest, Busan Next Wave and Echoes from North East.
As the curtains came down on the festival, organisers said MIFF had once again provided a platform for powerful stories and diverse voices, reaffirming the enduring appeal of non-feature cinema.
