SIFFCY 2025
A SMILE FOUNDATION
INITIATIVE
The 11th edition of the annual SIFFCY Film Festival was hosted in partnership with the European Union (Delegation of the European Union in India), with Poland as the Country of Honor, and Italy as the Country of Focus. We had the fortune of also screening specially curated films in partnership with Embassy of Finland, and our long standing collaboration with Germany. The festival was organized in a hybrid format to accommodate both in-person and virtual audiences. Major events, including the opening and award ceremonies, took place at the iconic Siri Fort Auditorium in New Delhi on January 28, 29, and 30, 2025.
In parallel, screenings and related activities were held in various locations in collaboration with the local schools and communities partners across India. Additionally, a curated selection of the program were streamed on the festival’s secure, geo-blocked virtual platform, reaching a broader audience throughout the week.
FOCUS ITALY:
With an objective to give tribute to extraordinary films from all times of a particular nation, SIFFCY hosts a special section focusing on a country every year. The 11th edition of SIFFCY curated the best of ITALIAN CINEMA in partnership with the Italian Cultural Center, New Delhi. We celebrate best of Italian cinema made for young audience. This is an honest effort to exchange our art, culture, tradition and values through cinema and strengthen the cultural relationship between our nations.
COUNTRY OF HONOUR: POLAND
We are proud to celebrate POLAND as the Country of Honor for SIFFCY 2025. And we hope that our collaboration with the incredible Polish Institute, New Delhi to host Polish Day during the festival continues in our upcoming editions as well. This year we screened multiple Polish films and organised programmes which involved a variety of sessions during the weeklong festival. This is an honest effort to exchange our art, tradition and values through cinema and strengthen the cultural relationship between our nations.
CELEBRATING GERMAN & FINNISH FILMS
We are proud to collaborate with our long-standing partner SCHLINGEL IFF, Germany again this year to bring handpicked German films for Indian audience. In addition, we have collaborated with The Embassy of Finland in India to curate films from Finland.
WATCH THIS SPACE FOR DETAILED SCHEDULE
BACKGROUND:
SIFFCY is a flagship initiative of India’s leading charity Smile Foundation to engage, educate and empower young minds through the power of Good Cinema and related capacity building workshops, interactive panels, masterclasses and related activities. Each year, the annual film festival attracts thousands of filmmakers, industry professionals and Cinephile from around the globe, with over 50,000 young spectators attending the week-long events. This year, we aimed to reach a larger audience, with over one million virtual participants.
(You may find more information on www.smilefoundationindia.org | www.siffcy.org)
NEXT-GEN AWARD
Producer, Director, Actor
Ulisse Lendaro is an Italian producer, actor and director born in Venice. His award-winning creative career began in acting where he starred in productions with the New York Theatre Ballet, the Stanislavsky Theater of Washington and later in feature films, most prominently as the lead in the Italian cult horror film, Medley – Brandelli di Scuola. In 2004 he was awarded the Premio Hystrio which recognizes youth creativity and in 2017 he made his directorial debut with L’Età Imperfetta. Premiering at the Festival del Cinema di Roma, and went on to play in over 30 film festivals around the world, winning several awards, including the Premio Kineo at the prestigious Venice Film Festival. SullePunte, and Human O.a.k. – Human of a kind are other two award winning films made by Ulisse.
Media Professional
Stephan Ottenbruch is a profound Media Professional. He is a graduate from Munich Film and Television School (HFF) and started his career at the renowned Bavarian Film Studios. He produced and commissioned more than 30 feature films and different TV-Series for the TV-Network Pro7Sat.1 before he became Theatre Manager for the legendary Babylon Cinema in Berlin. He explored IndoGerman Culture Clash through the production of the Series “Kookaburra – The Comedy Club” and launched “IndoGerman Filmweek” as the largest Indian film festival in Germany, in 2013.
Co-founder and director of Chicago South Asian Film Festival
Ketki is the co-founder and director of Chicago South Asian Film Festival (www.csaff.org), which was founded in 2010. CSAFF promotes South Asian culture, talent and perspectives through films, art and discussions.
Her first passion was theatre, she also had notable experiences in films, radio, television, dance, and poetry. At 14, Ketki was accepted as a student at the prestigious Darpana Academy in Ahmedabad. There, she became intimately engaged in both the performance and theories of artistic expression through dance and drama.
Ketki is also a strong and active supporter of the Indian community. After serving on the board of India Development Service she also serves as a board member of Apna Ghar, a domestic violence shelter in Chicago serving primarily Asian women and children . She also donates her expertise and time to plan fundraising events for other non-profit organizations.
Coordinator “FilemKING”, Ghent, and Filemon
Geert has an university degree in Communication science, Energy & Climate and in Education. He also followed Filmstudies, both on academic level as in practical skills.
With this backgound he dedicated his life to follow the state of the art solutions of ecological sustainability. This knowledge he shares as a teacher, spiced up with artistic workfoms like theater, music, fine arts and off course film. Besides his teaching job, he coordinates the Children Filmfestival “FilemKING”, in Ghent, Belgium, as a decentralisation of the Filemon Festival and he works out educational material for shortfilmseries about ‘Citizenship’ for schools.
Film Critic, Journalist
Dalton is a film critic /theorist and music journalist who has served on the film jury of the National Film Awards and the music jury of MG University. He’s the founder of the Cinema Society of India; CEO of House of Illusions; editor of Cinematic Illusions, and the Journal of Indian Cinema; advisory board member of the Guwahati Asian Film Festival, and the Indian Film Festival of Cincinnati; and festival director of the Mumbai International Student Film Festival. He’s presently on the verge of completing his book ‘Relativity Theory of Indian Cinema.’