Waves Film Bazaar in Goa, India, wrapped up its five-day run on Monday (November 24) with a prize ceremony and a minute of silence for legendary actor Dharmendra, who died earlier in the day.
The top prize in the Co-Production Features category went to Kakthet (Idiot) by director Stenzin Tankong. The India-France co-production received a cash grant of $10,000. Second place and $5,000 went to Ulta (Madam), an India-France-Canada co-production directed by Paromita Dhar.
Netflix, which has been a prominent co-partner of this year’s market, awarded a $5,000 documentary grant to Simhastha Kumbh, directed by produced by Amitabha Singh.
Scroll down for full list of winners
The ceremony, which included the participation of officials Ajay Nagabhushan and Dr. K K Nirala, NFDC head Prakash Magdum, advisor Jerome Paillard, IFFI festival director Shekhar Kapur, actor-turned-filmmaker Rachel Griffiths, and Indian directors Sriram Raghavan and Rajkumar Hirani, also dished out awards for best student project pitching, winners of IFFI’s AI film section and the AI Hackathon.
The Hackathon saw invited participants take up to 48 hours to create a short film on the topic of memory using AI tools. The participants were monitored to ensure that they used only original materials and techniques.
The accompanying International Film Festival of India (IFFI) continues in other locations in Goa until November 28.
Waves Film Bazaar 2025 winners
Cash Grant Prize for Co-Production Features, First Prize $10,000
Kakthet (Idiot) (India-Fr)
Dir. Stenzin Tankong
Pros. Ritu Sarin, Tenzing Sonam, Rajesh Thanickan
Cash Grant Prize for Co-Production Features, Second Prize $5,000
Ulta (Madam) (India-Fr-Can)
Dir. Paromita Dhar
Pros. Hyash Tanmoy, Jitendra Adappa, Niren Bhavanani
Special Cash Grant - Documentary (Netflix) $5,000
Simhastha Kumbh (India)
Dir/pro. Amitabha Singh
Red Sea Fund Cash award worth $2,500 for a project in development in Co-Production Market
The Manager
Dir. Sandeep Sreelekha
Pros. Anuj Tyagi, Vipin Radhakrishnan
Red Sea Fund Cash award worth $5,000 for a project in Work In Progress Lab (shared between 2 projects)
Azhi
Ustad Bantoo
Platoon One Studio Award under the Platoon One Script Development Grant as part of the Screenwriter’s Lab Project
Special Cash Grant - INR20,000
Nazma Ka Tadka (Nazma’s Tadka)
Writer: Sapan Taneja
Mukesh Chabbra Casting Company Partnership Award for Free Casting Service for a Co-Production Market Project
Teacher’s Pet
Dir. Sindhu Sreenivasa Murthy
Pros. Aishwarya Sonar, Shuchi Dwivedi, Vikramaditya Motwane.
Mukesh Chabbra Casting Company Partnership Award for Free Casting Service for a Screenwriters’ Lab Project (Mukesh Chhabra - Founder Mukesh Chhabra Casting Company)
White Guy
Writer: Niharika Puri
UCCN City of Film Best Co-Production Market Project Award
In collaboration with Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and NFDC
7 to 7
Dir. Nemil Shah
Pro. Nemil Shah & Rajesh Shah
Post-Production Grants Waves Film Bazaar 2025 Projects
Nube Studio Post-Production Award for a Work in Progress Lab Project. (The winner gets up to INR6 lakh [approx. $6,750] worth of post-production for DI and color grading)
Khoriya
Dir. Vishwendra Singh
Prasad Corporation – Post-Production Award for a Work in progress Lab Project - (Free 4K DI services for upto 50 Hrs)
Azhi (Estuary)
Dir. Hessa Salih
Prasad Corporation – Post-Production Award for WAVES Film Bazaar Recommends (FBR) Project - (4K Digital Intermediate services for up to 50 hours)
The Ink Stained Hand And The Missing Thumb
Dir. Yashasvi Juyal
Prasad Corporation - Special Mention - a token of appreciation in the form of a 50% discount on DI services for up to 50 hours (3 projects)
Ustad Bantoo
Dir. Arsh Jain
Chevittorma
Dir. Leo Thaddeus
Yarsa Gambu
Dir. Mohan Belwal
Moviebuff Post-Production Award of up to INR3 lakh of Post-Production support for DCP,and Trailer Promotion (3 winners)
Born Yesterday
Dir. Raj Rajan
Khamosh Nazar Aate Hain
Dir. Tejas Shankar Shukul
Aakkaatti
Dir. Jai Laxmii
Matchbox GAP Award to the Best Film at Waves Film Bazaar 2025 for up to INR20 lakh (approx. $22,400) in the form of soft finance for post-production and mentorship)
Echoes Of The Herd
Dir. Dipanker Jain
Special Jury Award (Complete post production to first print & mentorship to festivals)
Like A Feather In The Wind
Dir. Chahat Mansingka
M5 Global Film Fund Award - up to INR4 lakh (approx. $4,500) in support for festival strategy, marketing assets, and international visibility
Soul Whispers
Dir. Leo Thaddeaus
Reborn India Film Distribution Award - a theatrical release across 10 screens with distribution support valued at INR7 lakh (approx. $7,850)
Chingam
Dir. Abhay Sharma
IICT Reward for a Work in Progress Lab Project -INR50,000 (approx $56,000) of IICT Infra Credits, redeemable towards the use of IICT’s facilities and infrastructure.
Azhi
Dir. Hessa Salih
AI Film Festival and CinemAI Hackathon
The Craft Spectra Award for The Best AI Animation (Cash prize of INR1 lakh (approx. $1,150)
KYRA
Dir. Meta Puppet
The Craft Vanguard Award for The Most Innovative Use of AI (cash prize of INR2 lakh, approx. $2,300)
The Cinema That Never Was
Dir. Mark Wachholz!
The Craft Master Award for The Best AI Short Film (cash INR3 lakh, approx. $3,450)
Nagori
Dir. Guillaume Hurbault!
Special Jury Mention Awards to recognise exceptional promise in the art of AI-driven filmmaking (2 winners)
The Last Backup Final Part
Dir. Sreerithanya M
Miracle On The Kachua Beach
Dir. Shivanshu Nirupam
CinemAI Hackathon Awards
Best Sound Design (Cash prize INR1 Lakh)
Final Monsoon Echo
Dir. Rajesh Bhosale
Best Visuals (Cash prize of INR1 Lakh)
Being
Directed by Wonderwall Media Network and Indywood.
The Best Storytelling Award (Cash prize INR1 Lakh)
Lost And Found
Dir. Samresh Shrivastava
Most Innovative Use of AI (Cash prize INR2 lakh)
Remory
Dir. Atomeist
Best AI Film (Cash prize INR4lakh)
The Red Crayon by Kalpanik!
Student Producers Workshop Waves Film Bazaar 2025
Outstanding Pitch
Tengina Nadu
Student pro. Kaashviy Ommkaar
Outstanding Pitch, Jury Special Mention
Homework
Student dir/pro. Aniket Joshi
Outstanding Active & Engaged Participation
Shambho — The Eggman Cometh
Student pro. Aditya Maheshwari
Outstanding Project Development
Baba Aani Ti
Student pro. Radhika Kinare
Outstanding Producer Talent - SRFTI
Madakkam
Student dir/pro. Riya Varghese
Outstanding Producer Talent - Whistling Woods International
Demigods
Student Pro. Sakshi Mishra
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