The 22nd Third Eye Asian Film Festival, a key fixture in Maharashtra’s cinematic calendar, will be held from January 9 to January 15, 2026, across Mumbai and Thane. The week-long festival will showcase 56 Asian and Indian films, offering audiences a diverse selection of regional and international cinema.
The selected films will be screened at the Mini Theatre of the P. L. Deshpande Maharashtra Kala Academy in Prabhadevi and at Cinépolis, Lake Shore Mall, Thane. The festival will open with the Indonesian film On Your Lap (Pangku), which won the FIPRESCI Jury Award at the Busan International Film Festival.
Expressing pride in the festival’s legacy, Kiran V. Shantaram, President of the Asian Film Foundation, said the event has played an important role over the past 22 years in bringing outstanding Asian and Indian cinema to audiences in Maharashtra. He added that screening the classic films of his father, legendary filmmaker Dr. V. Shantaram, on his 125th birth anniversary makes this year’s edition particularly special.
Organised by the Asian Film Foundation since 2002, the Third Eye Asian Film Festival aims to introduce internationally acclaimed films to viewers in Mumbai and other cities across Maharashtra. For more than two decades, the festival has consistently been hosted in Mumbai and Thane.
Festival Director Dr. Santosh Pathare said this year’s carefully curated lineup of 56 films promises a rich cinematic experience. He highlighted the special focus on Kyrgyzstan, along with competitive sections for Indian and Marathi films, as major attractions for cinema lovers.
Among the festival’s highlights are the Indian Film Competition and the Marathi Film Competition sections. The Marathi competition will feature eleven films: April May 99, Sangala, Gaman, Giran, Gondhal, Kimidin, Nirjali, Prism, Sabar Bond, Sohla, and Uttar.
Welcoming the selection of his film, director Kshitij Patwardhan said he was delighted that Uttar would be screened at the festival. He noted that being showcased alongside internationally recognised films offers meaningful exposure for Marathi cinema and encourages emerging filmmakers.
The Indian Film Competition section will present twelve films in languages including Assamese, Kannada, Manipuri, Malayalam, Bengali, and Nepali. The Asian Spectrum section will feature films from China, Japan, Hong Kong, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Vietnam, Iran, the Philippines, and Thailand. This year’s Country Focus segment will spotlight Kyrgyzstan, showcasing both contemporary and traditional narratives from its cinema.
Veteran filmmaker Sai Paranjpye will be honoured with the Asian Film Culture Award, while director Uma Da Cunha will receive the Satyajit Ray Memorial Award. In memory of late critic Sudhir Nandgaonkar, the special award for film writing will be presented to film scholar and curator Meenakshi Shedde.
To mark the 125th birth anniversary of Dr. V. Shantaram, the festival will screen some of his most iconic films, including Do Aankhen Barah Haath, Dr. Kotnis Ki Amar Kahani, Kunku, and Navrang. In addition to screenings, the festival will host open forums with jury members and masterclasses by directors and technicians.Delegate registration for the festival is now open on the official website:
https://www.thirdeyeasianfilmfestival.com/
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