INDICA Dallas Film Utsav to Celebrate Indian Cinema in Texas, Featuring Oscar Entry ‘Gondhal’ and Filmmaker Q&As

The INDICA Dallas Film Utsav, taking place November 13–15, 2026, at Galaxy Theatres Grandscape, The Colony, Texas. Presented by the Center for Indic Films (CIF), an initiative of INDICA, the festival celebrates positive cinema and the diversity of Indian storytelling through feature films, documentaries, shorts, and filmmaker Q&As.

This year’s program also includes the CineSparks Ultrashort Film Contest Grand Finale and a special Writers’ Room Workshop + Panel. The festival opens on Friday, November 13, with a red carpet at 5:00 p.m., followed by the opening-night screening of Gondhal, the Marathi film directed by Santosh Davakhar, at 6:30 p.m., with a Q&A with the director to follow. Gondhal is India’s official entry to the 99th Oscars.

On Saturday, November 14, the CineSparks Grand Finale runs from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., featuring screenings from the Swipe Right anthology along with the announcement of the contest winners. Saturday’s feature lineup includes Kangbo Aloti by Khanjan Kishore Nath in Indo-Burmese Karbi language at 3:00 p.m., and Vimuk by Jintak Singh Gurjar in Braj Bhasha at 5:30 p.m.

There will also be Khoya Paya by Ashutosh Singh in Hindi at 8:30 p.m. Program 1, at 2:00 p.m., presents Hemis Tsechu – The Sacred Dance (Hindi), Khelne Chaloge? (Hindi), and Thachi – Echoes of Ramayana (Hindi) Shorts Program 1, at 5:30 p.m., includes Little Big Dreams (Hindi), Avaar Navaar Chhoriyan (Marwari) and Toyaj (Hindi).

On Sunday, November 15, Documentaries Program 2, at 2:00 p.m., features Analogue Natives (English) Avadhanam – The Art of Attention (Telugu) and Forged by Devotion (English). Shorts Program 2, at 3:30 p.m., presents First Rehearsal (Hindi), The Moment of Stop (English), Sirakukal (Tamil), Behenchara (Hindi).

Pen Fight Club (Malayalam) and Kaasagi Kanasina Kaagada (Kannada). At 5:30 p.m., the showcase documentary The India Experience – Season 1 will be followed by a Q&A with Bharat Bala, the director and creative force behind the Virtual Bharat 1000 Film project.

The festival closes with Om ka Hari, the Hindi film directed by Harish Vyas, at 8:00 p.m., followed by a Q&A with the film’s lead actors. For actors and aspiring screenwriters in film, the festival offers a Writers’ Room Workshop on Thursday, November 12, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. at the Caddo Offices in Frisco.

And there will be a Panel on Collaborative Screenwriting on Sunday, November 15, from 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Galaxy Theatre, Grandscape. We invite you to share the festival with your friends and family in the Dallas Metroplex region. Festival details and tickets are available at DallasFilmUtsav.org.