The 23rd edition of the Stuttgart Indian Film Festival is set to be held from July 23 to July 26, 2026, with this year’s programme putting a special focus on Malayalam cinema.
According to a press release, the festival will feature more than 70 films, including feature films, documentaries and short films from across India.
This year’s edition has been shortened to just under four days due to reduced funding from the City of Stuttgart. However, organisers said the festival will continue to present a wide range of films covering social issues, culture, identity, tradition and LGBTQ+ stories.
The festival will open on July 23 with Malayalam thriller ‘Eko: From the Infinite Chronicles of Kuriachan’, directed by Dinjith Ayyathan. On the same day, school students will get a special screening of director Varsha Bharath’s coming-of-age film ‘Bad Girl’.
Malayalam cinema will be one of the main attractions of the festival. Rajesh Madhavan’s debut film ‘Pennum Porattum – Girl and the Fools’ Parade’, Dominic Arun’s superhero film ‘Lokah – Chapter 1: Chandra’, Emcy Joseph’s survival thriller ‘Meesha – Moustache’, and Khalid Rahman’s boxing drama ‘Alappuzha Gymkhana’ are among the films lined up. Other films include ‘Iktsuarpok – The Weight of Longing’, ‘Nevermind’, ‘Kangbo Aloti – The Lost Path’, ‘The Audition’, ‘Sheness’, and ‘The Great Shamsuddin Family’.
The documentary section will also feature several films focusing on social issues and people from different walks of life. Among the major titles is ‘Saath Paar Zindagi – Life Beyond 60’, directed by Haider Khan, which tells the stories of five Padma Shri awardees, including transgender folk dancer Manjamma Jogati and elephant trainer Parbati Barua.
Other documentaries include ‘Lives for Leaves – Tea Production in Assam’, which looks at the working conditions of tea plantation workers, ‘Waiting at the Edge of the Gallows’, based on India’s last official executioner, ‘The Music Shop – Symphony of the City’, ‘Ek Akhiri Sair – One Last Ride’, and ‘Bride of Aravan’, which follows the lives of transgender women during Tamil Nadu’s Koovagam festival.
The short film section will present stories on identity, social issues and relationships. The festival will also once again showcase LGBTQIA+ films, including director Onir’s ‘Tumhari Khushboo – Your Fragrance’, Chandradeep Das’ ‘Jasmine That Blooms in Autumn’, and the documentary ‘Bride of Aravan’.
Several films across feature, documentary and short film categories have also been nominated for the festival’s film awards.
