Bollywood Stars Back Festival Bridging NZ and India’s Screen Industries

Bollywood actors and real-life couple Ali Fazal and Richa Chadha visited New Zealand for the launch of the Indian Film Festival of New Zealand (TIFFNZ), where they showcased their award-winning female-led film, Girls Will Be Girls. Photo: AMC

The Indian Film Festival of New Zealand (TIFFNZ), founded and directed by Petrina D'Rozario, is set to run across multiple New Zealand cities in October 2026. The inaugural edition will screen approximately 30 films across feature and short formats, alongside industry workshops, masterclasses, and networking events aimed at fostering collaboration between the Indian and New Zealand screen sectors.

The launch drew a strong turnout from Auckland's Indian diaspora community, which numbers more than 300,000 nationally, as well as screen industry representatives and cultural leaders, including India's Consul General, Dr Madan Mohan Sethi.

In a statement, India's High Commissioner to New Zealand, H.E. Muanpuii Saiawi, said:

"Cinema plays a profound role in the life of an Indian," the High Commissioner said. "It is no wonder that India has been producing the largest number of films in the world. Film is a powerful medium that brings our two peoples closer."

A Coming-of-Age Film That Has Divided and Inspired India

The evening's centrepiece screening, Girls Will Be Girls, has won awards at the Sundance Film Festival and the Independent Spirit Awards and is now available on some streaming platforms in India.

Directed by Shuchi Talati, the film follows a 16-year-old girl at an Indian boarding school navigating first love and the competing desires of her young mother, both caught between tradition and a quietly emerging freedom.

Set in the late 1990s as India's economy opened up to global consumer culture, the film explores a reality familiar to many Indian women: the gap between the freedoms afforded to boys and those permitted to girls.

During a Q&A session following the screening, Chadha, who produced the film alongside her husband Ali Fazal under their banner Pushing Buttons Studios, addressed the film's mixed reception in India.

"I think the film swept up a lot of awards in India, which was very surprising to me initially," she said. "It has already changed a little bit of how women tell women stories in India, one hundred percent."

The screening was not without incident. Some audience members walked out of the cinema and created a disturbance during the film, which others observed was itself evidence of the film's impact.

Members of the Indian diaspora audience said: "The message is actually in the disturbance. It could be quite difficult for some people to handle their own perceptions."

They said the reaction reflected the film's powerful message focused on women in India.

Chadha and Fazal, who were briefly absent during the incident, acknowledged it with composure. "We just heard something happened," Fazal said.

Women Behind the Camera

In an interview with the Asia Media Centre after the formal proceedings, Chadha spoke about whether Girls Will Be Girls could encourage more Indian women to make personal, female-led films and whether India's film industry was ready for them.

"These films are a bit risky," she said. "If it is a big Bollywood film with lots of songs and dances, it would be a little bit easier. So, it's always a little bit harder, but it's really worth the effort. You get to take a very rooted film and travel with it all over the world, and people can relate to it."

Asked if she saw herself as breaking a ceiling for women producers, she was direct:

"I think all ceilings must be broken. Especially glass ones on the chair."

Fazal noted during the Q&A that producing independent Indian cinema came with its own pressures, including investors who questioned casting choices on the basis of skin colour.

"There's a lot of internalised racism within our country," he said. "I think it's a post-colonial thing."

The film was made with a predominantly female crew on set, particularly during intimate scenes involving the young lead actors, both of whom were first-time performers.

FTA Opens Door for Screen Collaboration

TIFFNZ arrives as New Zealand and India deepen ties following their recently signed Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which opens new channels for collaboration across industries, including the creative sector.

New Zealand's screen industry has an established global profile, and festival organisers have pointed to co-production and talent exchange as areas of potential growth between the two countries.

D'Rozario said the festival was designed to function as both a cultural platform and an industry bridge.

"TIFFNZ has been envisioned as a bridge between cultures, industries and communities," she said. "This festival is about creating a meaningful platform where stories travel, collaborations begin, and audiences come together."

Chadha and Fazal also backed the endevour, saying, "Film festivals play an important role in building dialogue and creating space for diverse stories. The idea of bringing Indian cinema to New Zealand in a structured, celebratory way feels both timely and meaningful."

Both actors spoke warmly about their visit to New Zealand and said they were open to exploring future film collaborations, especially projects that reflect values they admire in Aotearoa, such as cultural diversity, inclusion, and a deep appreciation for the natural environment.

-Asia Media Centre