DFU 2026 Slate

We are pleased to announce that the INDICA Dallas Film Utsav is taking place November 13–15, 2026, at Galaxy Theatres @ Grandscape, The Colony, Texas. Presented by the Center for Indic Films (CIF), an initiative of INDICA, the festival celebrates honest positive cinema and the plurality of Indian storytelling through feature films, documentaries, shorts, and filmmaker Q&As. This year’s program also includes the CineSparks Ultrashort Film Contest Grand Finale and a special Acting Workshop + Masterclass.

The festival opens on Friday, November 13, with a red carpet at 5:00 p.m., followed by the opening-night screening of Gondhal, the Marathi film directed by Santosh Davakhar, at 6:30 p.m., with a Q&A with the director to follow. Gondhal is India’s official entry to the 99th Oscars.

On Saturday, November 14, the CineSparks Grand Finale runs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., featuring screenings from the Swipe Right anthology along with the announcement of the contest winners. Saturday’s feature lineup includes Kangbo Aloti by Khanjan Kishore Nath in Indo-Burmese Karbi language at 3:00 p.m., Vimukt by Jintak Singh Gurjar in Braj Bhasha at 5:30 p.m., and Khoya Paya by Ashutosh Singh in Hindi at 8:30 p.m. Program 1, at 2:00 p.m., presents Hemis Tsechu – The Sacred Dance (Hindi), Khelne Chaloge? (Hindi), and Thachi – Echoes of Ramayana (Hindi). Shorts Program 1, at 5:30 p.m., includes Little Big Dreams (Hindi), Avaar Navaar Chhoriyan (Marwari) and Toyaj (Hindi).

On Sunday, November 15, Documentaries Program 2, at 2:00 p.m., features Analogue Natives (English), Avadhanam – The Art of Attention (Telugu) and Forged by Devotion (English). Shorts Program 2, at 3:30 p.m., presents First Rehearsal (Hindi), Thai film The Moment of Stop (English), Sirakukal (Tamil), Behenchara (Hindi). Pen Fight Club (Malayalam) and Kaasagi Kanasina Kaagada (Kannada). At 5:30 p.m., the showcase documentary The India Experience – Season 1 will be followed by a Q&A with Bharat Bala Ganapathy, the director and creative force behind the Virtual Bharat 1000 Film project. The festival closes with Om ka Hari, the Hindi film directed by Harish Vyas, at 8:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the film’s lead actors. Jury Awards will happen the same evening.

For actors and aspiring actors in film and theatre, the festival offers an Acting Workshop on Thursday, November 12, from 3:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Caddo Offices in Frisco, and an Acting Masterclass on Sunday, November 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Galaxy Theatre, Grandscape. Both are helmed by Madhura Welankar Satam and Abhijeet Shivaji Satam, renowned acting and production coaches, and are open to actors from film as well as theatre.

We invite you to share the festival with your friends and family in the Dallas Metroplex region. Festival details and tickets are available at dallasFilmUtsav.org.