NFDC, ESG to partner with PictureTime Digiplex for inflatable theatres at IFFI 2025

Panaji: The National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) and the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG) have partnered with PictureTime Digiplex to set up inflatable cinemas for the fifty sixth International Film Festival of India (IFFI) to be held in Goa from November twenty to twenty eight.

PictureTime, known for its mobile digital theatres that travel across remote and underserved regions in India, will install a fully equipped inflatable theatre at the Kala Academy, one of the main venues of the festival. The company will also organise open air screenings at several locations across North and South Goa, allowing local residents wider access to festival films.

The inflatable theatre will screen films in four curated sections: Inspirational Films, Indian Panorama Classics, Nostalgia and Childrens Cinema.

For the first time, three Shah Rukh Khan classic, Chak De India, Darr and Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge — will be featured in the inflatable cinemas. Other screenings include Vidhu Vinod Chopras Twelve Fail, the Malayalam hit Manjummel Boys, Srikanth, Mrs Chatterjee vs Norway, Sooraj Barjatyas Uunchai, Mira Nairs Salaam Bombay, Irrfan Khans Qissa, and classics such as Satyajit Rays Shatranj Ke Khilari, Vijay Anands Teesri Manzil and Yash Chopras Chandni and Kaala Patthar.

Special daily screenings for school children have been planned with films such as Kaphal Wild Berries, Gattu, Banarasi Jasoos, The Prince and the Crown of Stone and the Marathi film Naal Two.

Sushil Chaudhary, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of PictureTime Digiplex, said the collaboration highlights the progress of mobile cinema technology. PictureTime last worked with IFFI in twenty seventeen during the Bioscope Village initiative.

He said that bringing mobile digital theatres to a festival of this scale shows how far the format has progressed and that the objective remains to make cinema accessible to audiences who may not otherwise have the opportunity to experience high quality film viewing. He added that screenings for students are an important step in nurturing early interest in cinema.

The inflatable theatre at the Kala Academy is expected to draw more than one thousand visitors daily, including global delegates, industry professionals and film enthusiasts. The open air screenings across Goa are expected to attract an additional three hundred to four hundred viewers at each location every day.