NAB IFFM Awards Night 2026: Date, Venue & Nominees

This Thursday, the Palais Theatre on Melbourne's St Kilda foreshore will do something it does only once a year: turn into the biggest stage for Indian cinema outside India itself. The NAB IFFM Awards Night, the marquee opening event of the 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, brings together the year's most talked-about Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, Marathi, Bengali and Punjabi films under one roof, alongside the actors and directors who made them.

For Melbourne's Indian and South Asian community, this isn't just an awards show. It's the night the diaspora's cinema gets red-carpet treatment on Australian soil, with the festival now in its 17th year and backed by the Victorian Government.

If you're planning to attend, watch online, or simply want to know who's up for what before the winners are announced, here's everything confirmed so far — verified against official IFFM listings and recent festival reporting.

When and Where Is the NAB IFFM Awards Night 2026?

The NAB IFFM Awards Night takes place on Thursday, 13 August 2026 at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne, with doors from 6:30 PM ahead of a 7:00 PM start. It opens the 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which runs across the city and regional Victoria through to 23 August.

The Palais Theatre, one of Melbourne's most iconic heritage venues, has hosted the awards night in recent years and returns as the setting for 2026 (IFFM official event listing). Doors opening at 6:30 PM for a 7:00 PM ceremony start is standard for the format, giving attendees time for arrivals and red-carpet coverage before the show begins.

This year's festival runs under the theme "Shared Stories, Shared Humanity," reflecting a program built around inclusion and cross-cultural storytelling (FilmInk, 2026). The Awards Night sits right at the front of an eleven-day run that spans more than 130 films across 38 languages, screened at venues including HOYTS District Docklands, HOYTS Highpoint, HOYTS Chadstone, Village Crown, Village Sunshine and Village Knox, plus regional screenings in Geelong, Bendigo and Shepparton.

What Is the NAB IFFM Awards Night?

The NAB IFFM Awards Night is the opening ceremony and awards presentation of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, honouring the best of Indian and South Asian cinema and streaming content released over the past year. Named after its title sponsor, National Australia Bank, it combines a formal awards ceremony with live performances and red-carpet arrivals from visiting stars.

Now in its 17th edition, IFFM was founded in 2010 by Mitu Bhowmick Lange and has grown into the largest celebration of Indian cinema held outside India (Wikipedia; FilmInk, 2026). The festival is presented with support from the Victorian Government and has built its reputation on showcasing work that rarely reaches Australian screens otherwise — from Bollywood blockbusters to independent regional-language cinema.

What sets the 2026 edition apart is the scale of inclusion behind the nominations. Organisers have confirmed that this year's shortlist features 15 women filmmakers, 17 women-led films and narratives, and six queer stories, spanning nine languages including Hindi, Tamil, Kannada, Malayalam, Bengali, Marathi, Punjabi, English and Nepalese (FilmInk, 2026). Winners are chosen by a jury drawn from Australia's film industry and cultural sector, rather than public vote alone.

Who Is Nominated for the 2026 IFFM Awards?

The 2026 IFFM Awards nominees include Sitaare Zameen Par, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, Saiyaara and Haq in the Best Film category, with Aamir Khan, Ranveer Singh, Rishab Shetty and Dulquer Salmaan among the contenders for Best Male Performance. Nominations span theatrical releases and OTT productions across eight major award categories.

Best Film Haq (Hindi) · Jarann (Marathi) · Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 (Kannada) · Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra (Malayalam) · Saiyaara (Hindi) · Sitaare Zameen Par (Hindi) · Sharthopor (Bengali) · The Great Shamsuddin Family (Hindi)

Best Performance (Male) Aamir Khan – Sitaare Zameen Par · Ahaan Panday – Saiyaara · Bhuman Bhargav Das – Not a Hero · Dulquer Salmaan – Kaantha · Mammootty – KalamKaval: The Venom Beneath · Ranveer Singh – Dhurandhar · Rishab Shetty – Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1 · Sanjay Mishra – Vadh 2

Best Performance (Female) Aneet Padda – Saiyaara · Kalyani Priyadarshan – Lokah Chapter 1: Chandra · Kirti Kulhari – Full Plate · Neena Gupta – Vadh 2 · Rajshri Deshpande – Baapya · Rani Mukerji – Mardaani 3 · Rituparna Sengupta – Bela · Yami Gautam Dhar – Haq

Beyond the headline acting and film categories, the 2026 slate also covers Best Indie Film, Best Series (including Kohrra: Season 2 and Freedom at Midnight: Season 2), Best Documentary Film, and Best Film from the Subcontinent — a category recognising work from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Afghanistan (BigNewsNetwork, 2026). Festival Director Mitu Bhowmick Lange has described this year's list as reflecting "the extraordinary depth, diversity, and dynamism of Indian storytelling," pointing to the growing weight OTT releases now carry alongside theatrical hits.

Which Stars Are Attending IFFM 2026?

Actor Rani Mukerji is this year's official Chief Guest and will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters from La Trobe University during her visit, alongside a public "In Conversation" session at Federation Square. She joins a guest list that includes Pankaj Tripathi, Kirti Kulhari, Malaika Arora and Rishab Shetty, with several nominated filmmakers also confirmed to attend in person.

Mukerji's honorary doctorate ceremony is scheduled for 14 August at Federation Square, the day after the Awards Night, with her public conversation session at 3 PM at The Edge, Fed Square (FilmInk, 2026). Her three-decade career — spanning films like Black, No One Killed Jessica, Hichki and the Mardaani franchise — has made her one of the guests festival organisers are most keen to spotlight this year, particularly given her own Best Female Performance nomination for Mardaani 3.

Other confirmed attendees include Rekha, Dulquer Salmaan, Saiyami Kher and Sayani Gupta, along with directors and cast from several nominated indie titles who will be present for post-screening Q&As across the festival's eleven-day run.

How Can I Get Tickets?

Tickets for the NAB IFFM Awards Night are currently on sale through the official IFFM website. As the opening night of the festival and its highest-profile single event, seats at the Palais Theatre are limited, and organisers have flagged that the full guest list is still being finalised ahead of the night.

Beyond the Awards Night itself, festival passes and individual session tickets for the broader 13–23 August program — including opening and closing night screenings, the Federation Square Flag Hoisting Ceremony, the Remitly IFFM Dance Competition and the IFFM x MQFF Pride Day — are also available through the same portal. Given the scale of this year's program, more than 130 films across 38 languages, early booking is worth prioritising for in-demand sessions.

Key Takeaways

• The NAB IFFM Awards Night 2026 takes place on Thursday, 13 August 2026 at the Palais Theatre, Melbourne, with doors at 6:30 PM for a 7:00 PM start.
• It opens the 17th edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne, which runs from 13 to 23 August 2026 under the theme "Shared Stories, Shared Humanity."
• Best Film nominees include Sitaare Zameen Par, Kantara: A Legend – Chapter 1, Saiyaara, Haq and The Great Shamsuddin Family.
• This year's nominations feature 15 women filmmakers, 17 women-led films and six queer stories across nine languages.
• Rani Mukerji is the festival's official Chief Guest and will receive an Honorary Doctor of Letters from La Trobe University on 14 August.
• Tickets for the Awards Night and the full festival program are on sale now via the official IFFM website.

References and Further Reading

• IFFM Official Awards Night Listing — confirms date, venue and ticketing status directly from the festival organiser — https://www.iffm.com.au/iffm-awards-night.html
• FilmInk — "The 2026 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM) Launches Full Program" — full program details, guest confirmations and category breakdown from the official festival press release — https://www.filmink.com.au/public-notice/the-2026-indian-film-festival-of-melbourne-iffm-launches-full-program-13-24-august/
• BigNewsNetwork — "Indian Film Festival of Melbourne 2026 unveils nominations" — nominee announcement and jury details — https://www.bignewsnetwork.com/news/279174174/indian-film-festival-of-melbourne-2026-unveils-nominations-aamir-khan-ranveer-singh-rishab-shetty-compete-for-best-actor-honour

Melbourne's South Asian community has waited all year for this — and this Thursday, the Palais Theatre delivers it. Whether you're heading down for the red carpet, tracking the Best Film race from home, or simply planning which festival screenings to book next, the NAB IFFM Awards Night 2026 marks the start of Melbourne's biggest fortnight of Indian cinema. Grab your tickets while seats remain, and check back for full winner coverage once the night wraps up.