FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Film Critics Circle of India Publishes Longlist for 2025 Best Debut Feature Award
Mumbai, November 20, 2025 — The Film Critics Circle of India (FCCI) today released the longlist for its 2025 Best Debut Feature Award, spotlighting 12 first-time filmmakers whose works premiered across national and international festivals between January 1 and October 31, 2025. The list, selected by a 21-member jury, will be narrowed to five official nominees on December 15, with the winner announced at the FCCI annual dinner in Pune on January 18, 2026.
Introduced in 2017, the FCCI Best Debut Feature is the only Indian critics’ prize restricted to directors’ first commercial releases. This year’s field spans eight languages and four production countries, reflecting the organization’s expanded eligibility rules that now accept Indian-subject films shot abroad provided post-production was substantially completed within India. According to the Motion Picture Association’s 2025 yearbook, debut features accounted for 27 % of India’s 1,833 theatrical releases, yet secured only 6 % of domestic box-office receipts, underscoring the award’s role in directing critical—and audience—attention toward emerging voices.
> “First-time filmmakers face a market that is simultaneously hungry for fresh narratives and cautious about unproven talent,” said FCCI artistic director Joshy Joseph. “The longlist is designed to function as a viewing guide for exhibitors, streamers and festival programmers who want quality assurance from a critics’ perspective.”
Research published this month by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) shows that films championed by critics’ circles in the past three cycles earned 38 % higher streaming viewership in their first 90 days compared with comparable titles that received no critics’ nods, suggesting tangible economic value for the recognition.
The 2025 longlist is led by Ritesh Sharma’s Jhini Bini Chadariya (Hindi), which won the FIPRESCI prize at Venice’s Orrizzonti section, and Neetha Syam’s Footprints on Water (Malayalam-English), previously a special mention at the 2024 FCCI awards. Other titles include Kislay’s Aise Hee (Hindi), Gaurav Madan’s Barah by Barah (Bhojpuri) and Kripal Kalita’s Bridge (Assamese), each of which secured festival play at Rotterdam, Busan or Gothenburg. Documentary-fiction hybrids—once rare on the debut circuit—are represented by Akhilesh KA’s Barsa (Tulu) and Olivia Das’ Ora: Daughters on Rent (Hindi-English), the latter shot entirely on an iPhone 15 Pro with a crew of five.
Female directors make up 42 % of the longlist, the highest ratio since the category’s inception. The figure aligns with a 2025 UNESCO report that found women constituted only 18 % of Indian film directors over the past decade, indicating that critics’ endorsement may serve as a corrective accelerant.
“Recognition at the FCCI level translates directly into acquisition meetings,” said longlisted director Neetha Syam. “After last year’s special mention, my film was picked up by SonyLIV within six weeks. The platform told me the critics’ citation was the clincher.”
Market analytics firm Ormax projects that streaming rights for debut features highlighted by the FCCI in 2024 fetched a median 40 % premium over comparable unrated titles, validating the award’s commercial influence. The longlisted films will now be made available on a secure screening portal for 500-plus FCCI voting members, with regional chapters in Kolkata, Kochi and Guwahati hosting public preview nights through December. Final-round balloting employs a weighted-point system that has correctly forecast three of the last five National Award winners for Best Debut Film, cementing the FCCI list’s reputation as an Oscar-style bellwether.
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