IFFI 2026 International Jury: Aanand L. Rai Leads a Jury of Global Voices at the 57th IFFI
Okay, I need to talk about this jury because whoever put it together at IFFI deserves a raise.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting just revealed the International Cinema jury for IFFI 57, and it is not five safe names on a poster. It's a Bollywood heartland storyteller sitting next to a sound designer, a Thai filmmaker who turned a ghost into a vacuum cleaner, an Argentine director and a Romanian satirist who won Venice. That is a fun table.
The ministry's caption put it nicely: "Cinema knows no borders. Neither does the jury that celebrates it." Let's meet them one by one.
1. Aanand L. Rai: the chairperson
India. Director and Producer.
If you grew up on small-town love stories with big messy hearts, you grew up on Aanand L. Rai. Tanu Weds Manu. Raanjhanaa. Tanu Weds Manu Returns. Atrangi Re. And most recently Tere Ishk Mein. His characters are loud, stubborn, a bit broken and completely alive.
And through his banner Colour Yellow, he backed films that went way beyond his own style, like Tumbbad, Manmarziyaan and Shubh Mangal Saavdhan.
My take? A heartland romantic as jury chair at an international competition is a brilliant choice. He knows how emotion works on screen, and that's exactly what you want deciding which films "stay with us long after the credits roll."
2. María Alejandra Rojas: the ears of the jury
Colombia. Sound Designer.
This is the pick I'm most excited about, because sound people almost never get a jury seat, and they should.
Rojas, who goes by Maja, is a Colombian sound designer, sound supervisor and re-recording mixer based in Mexico. She trained in Bogotá and at the famous EICTV film school in Cuba. Her credits include the documentary Frida, The Tuba Thieves, The Other Tom and work on Gabriel Mascaro's The Blue Trail, the Berlinale Silver Bear winner. Her work has played Berlin, Sundance, Rotterdam, Toronto, Venice and yes, IFFI Goa.
Having someone on the jury who listens to a film, literally, changes the conversation in that room. Love it.
3. Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke: the wild card
Thailand. Writer and Director.
Okay, this one is a delight. Ratchapoom made A Useful Ghost, a Thai comedy-drama about a ghost that comes back as... a vacuum cleaner. I am not making this up. And it's not just quirky, critics called it profound.
It won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics' Week in 2025, making Cannes history for Thai cinema. A filmmaker who can be absurd and moving at the same time? Perfect jury energy.
4. Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière: the quiet observer
Argentina. Director and Screenwriter.
Her debut feature, Mamá, mamá, mamá, premiered at the Berlinale in 2020. It's a delicate film about grief, set in a world where the adults are mostly absent, and it travelled to festivals across Europe and the Americas.
She brings a very different sensibility from Rai's: intimate, still, atmospheric. Put those two in the same discussion and you get exactly the kind of debate a jury needs.
5. Bogdan Mureșanu: the Venice winner
Romania. Writer and Director.
His first fiction feature, The New Year That Never Came, won the Orizzonti Award for Best Film at Venice in 2024. It's a tragicomedy set on a single day just before Romania's 1989 revolution, under the dictatorship. He also picked up the Bisato d'Oro for Best Screenplay at Venice that year.
Romanian cinema is famous for its dark, dry humour about history, and Mureșanu is one of its sharpest new voices. He'll have zero patience for lazy films, and I mean that as a compliment.
So what does this jury tell us?
Range. A commercial Hindi filmmaker and four arthouse festival favourites
Craft. A sound designer on the panel says IFFI cares about more than directors and stars
Recent form. Two of these filmmakers won major prizes at Cannes and Venice in the last two years
My take
This is the most interesting IFFI jury in a while. Not the most famous, the most interesting. And interesting juries pick interesting winners. I can't wait to see which film walks away with the Golden Peacock.
IFFI 57 runs 20 to 28 November 2026 in Goa. Our IFFI 2026 guide to dates and delegate passes has everything you need to plan the trip. And if you make films yourself, the Cineverse 2027 short film festival is taking entries.
Frequently asked questions
Who heads the IFFI 2026 international jury?
Filmmaker Aanand L. Rai is the Jury Chairperson for the International Cinema jury at the 57th IFFI.
Who are the other IFFI 2026 jury members?
María Alejandra Rojas (sound designer, Colombia), Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke (writer and director, Thailand), Sol Berruezo Pichon-Rivière (director and screenwriter, Argentina) and Bogdan Mureșanu (writer and director, Romania).
When is IFFI 2026?
The 57th International Film Festival of India runs from 20 to 28 November 2026 in Goa.
What is A Useful Ghost?
Ratchapoom Boonbunchachoke's feature, a Thai comedy-drama about a ghost that returns as a vacuum cleaner. It won the Grand Prize at Cannes Critics' Week in 2025.
Vishal Waghela is the Co-Founder of AltBollywood and a proud neo-generalist who refuses to pick a lane. Film, music, memes, fashion, AI, internet subcultures: if pop culture touches it, he's already three rabbit holes deep. He writes the way he lives online, loud, emotional, a little chaotic and always honest about why culture makes us feel things. Come argue with him on Instagram at @vishal.waghe1a.
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