To celebrate our 20th edition we are delighted to announce Film Competition on Women and the Arts/ Creative Industries.

Women play diverse roles in shaping the world of arts: from visual arts and literature to music, dance, film, and beyond in folk, classical and the contemporary arts.

The British Council, IAWRT (Chapter India) and PSBT are putting together a film competition, where we invite film submissions that have creatively explored subjects such as women artists’ triumphs, challenges, historical contributions, or innovative approaches within the creative industries by women.

The 20th IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival (AWFF) will be held from 6th – 8th March, 2025 at New Delhi, India. IAWRT India organizes this unique Asian women’s film festival each year to mark the International Women’s Day. Launched in 2005, the IAWRT film festival has over the years positioned itself with a conscious effort to showcase narratives weaved by Asian women filmmakers and grown in strength and reputation, with participation from around the world.

Over the last 20 years, the festival has travelled to many Indian cities, and the curated package of films from the festival has been screened at other festivals across the world. The IAWRT film festival endeavors to showcase work by women filmmakers of Asian origin, from around the world.

- Award Categories: Popular Choice & Jury Award
- Two Best Films: Rs. 15,000 each.
- Winning filmmakers will be felicitated at the British Council Auditorium, New Delhi, on March 5, 2025.
- Winning films will be uploaded on the British Council's website for 2 weeks.
- Filmmakers of the winning entries will be invited as guests to the prestigious IAWRT Asian Women’s Film Festival (March 6-8, 2025). Travel and accommodation for two nights will be covered.
- An opportunity to an observer in sessions with experts in the mentoring program run by PSBT, Doc_Commune in 2025.

Eligibility
- Open to filmmakers of (a) any gender, (b) above 21, and (c) from any part of India.
- Films must be original and centred on the competition’s theme, and have been made post 2015.
- Submissions can be in any genre (documentary, fiction, animation, experimental).
- Non-English films must include English subtitles.

Judging Criteria:
Submissions will be evaluated by a panel of distinguished filmmakers and scholars based on the following:

- Relevance to Theme: How well the film captures and conveys the theme.
- Storytelling and Creativity: Originality, narrative strength, and artistic innovation.
- Technical Quality: Cinematography, editing, sound, and production value.
- Impact: The ability to inform, inspire, and engage audiences.

Important: The longlisted films will be uploaded on YouTube by February 15th, 2025. The films with the maximum views will automatically make it to the shortlist.

Important Dates:
- Launch Date: January 18, 2025
- Submission Deadline: February 4, 2025
- Longlist Announcement: February 20, 2025
- Youtube viewing competition: February 21 – February 27, 2025
- Winning films announcement: March 2, 2025
- Screening of Winning Films: March 5, 2025

Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Ovi Cinema

    Participating in IAWRT with our film "ENJIN The Devoted Nature Lover " was a wonderful experience. The event was well-organized with clear communication and excellent support. The atmosphere was vibrant and welcoming, fostering great connections. We appreciated the engaging discussions and thoughtful feedback from the audience. Highly recommend this festival!

    June 2024
  • Sevenskies Distribution

    One of the best festivals with a great and good team

    March 2024
  • Its the most prestigious and one of the oldest womens film festival dedicated to Asian women. i am glad my short documentary, "50 to 350" was selected to be screened this year. I met many good filmmakers and made friends. Appreciate the selections this year as i was able to watch brilliant cinema. i wish to send my films to this festival every year.

    March 2024
  • Rajni Basumatary

    Surprisingly, I received no communication from the festival after their first email that our film has been shortlisted.

    March 2024
  • Soli Hana

    It's perfect film festival for women directors

    March 2024