cine dreams kolkata cdiff
CineDream Kolkata mascot
Inaugural Edition · December 2026

Where cinema
becomes eternal.

A black-and-gold celebration of stories that move the world — feature films, OTT originals, ad-films, documentaries, shorts and every form of moving image.

15 Jury | 60+ Awards | All Languages
Feature Films OTT Originals Documentaries Ad Films Short Films Animated Films Regional Cinema Feature Films OTT Originals Documentaries Ad Films Short Films Animated Films Regional Cinema
CineDream Kolkata
Our Vision

Every frame is a prayer; every story, a candle against the dark.

CineDream Kolkata International Film Festival was founded on a simple idea — that cinema, in any language and any length, deserves a stage as luxurious as the dreams it carries. From a thirty-second ad film to a three-hour epic, every story lit on a screen is part of one continuous human story.

Read Our Story
Mark Your Calendar

2 & 3 December 2026. A festival of light.

Screenings
Dec 2 – 3, 2026
Venue
PVR INOX — AVANI MALL, Howrah
Awards Ceremony
Dec 3 · 7:00 – 10:00 PM
Submissions Open
Open Now
Submission Timeline

From your screen to ours — five dates to remember.

Submit Your Film
Step 01
Submissions Open
Open Now
Step 02
1st Window Closes
15 October 2026
Step 03
2nd & Final Window
16 – 30 October 2026
Step 04
Results Announced
15 November 2026
Step 05
Festival & Awards
2 & 3 December 2026
Awards Night · 3 December 2026 | PVR INOX — AVANI MALL, Howrah
Festival Schedule · November 2026

Two days of cinema. One night of gold.

The festival unfolds over two days at PVR INOX — AVANI MALL, near the 2nd Hooghly Bridge in Howrah — opening with a full day of curated screenings, and closing with the black-and-gold awards night.

Day 01
Screenings · Opening Day
Wednesday · 2 December 2026
10:00 AM – 10:00 PM

Doors open, inaugural screenings across features, shorts and documentaries, followed by filmmaker Q&As.

Day 02
Screenings · Closing Day
Thursday · 3 December 2026
10:00 AM – 6:00 PM

Final screening block — OTT films, ad films, music albums and the singing showcase — leading into the awards night.

Awards Night
Awards Ceremony
Thursday · 3 December 2026
7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

A black-and-gold ceremony honouring every winner across our cash-prize, honorary and Legends of Bengal categories.

PVR INOX — AVANI MALL · Near 2nd Hooghly Bridge, Howrah
The Jury

Cinema's most discerning voices

Meet All Jury
Soham P. Shah
Director & Writer

Soham P. Shah

Soham P. Shah is an Indian film director and writer known for 'Kaal', 'Luck', and the critically acclaimed 'Kartam Bhugtam'.

K. Adhiyaman
Jury · Direction & Screenplay

K. Adhiyaman

Veteran Tamil director known for 'Thotta Chinungi' and dialogues for acclaimed films including 'Pudhiya Mugam'.

Ujjwal Chatterjee
Hindi & Bengali Director

Ujjwal Chatterjee

Director, screenwriter known for 'Swabhoomi', 'Uthhaan', 'Escape From Taliban' and 'Kalratri'.

The Awards

Sixty-plus honors. One unforgettable night.

Every selected category is celebrated with a sculpted CineDream Kolkata trophy, a hand-engraved certificate, and — for our cash-prize tiers — prize money to support the artist's next project.

Best Film
₹ 25,000
Best Foreign Film
₹ 25,000
Best Regional Film
₹ 25,000
Best Director — Female
₹ 25,000
Best Director — Male
₹ 25,000
Best Regional Film Director
₹ 25,000
Best Foreign Film Director
₹ 25,000
Best Foreign Film Story / Screenplay
₹ 25,000
Best Regional Film Story / Screenplay
₹ 25,000
Best OTT Film
₹ 25,000
A Tribute to the Greats

Legends of Bengal — Honorary Awards

Eleven annual awards instituted in the names of luminaries whose work defined Bengal — and through Bengal, defined Indian cinema, music, literature and the arts.

Icon Award

Rabindranath Tagore

The highest honour of CineDream Kolkata — a salutation to the gurudev whose verse, song and vision continue to teach the world how to feel.

Director

Satyajit Ray

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Music Director

Salil Chaudhury

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Singer

Hemanta Mukherjee

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Actor

Uttam Kumar

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Actor (Critics' Choice)

Soumitra Chatterjee

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Actress

Suchitra Sen

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Art Director

Nitish Roy

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Comedian

Bhanu Banerjee

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Soulful Music

Bhupen Hazarika

In memoriam · Honorary Award
Writer

Mahasweta Devi

In memoriam · Honorary Award

Awards are conferred on living artists whose contemporary work most embodies the spirit of each legend's craft.

Highlights of the Show

Two nights. Infinite light.

Star-Studded Guest List
01 / 05

Star-Studded Guest List

Marquee names from Bollywood, regional cinema and global film walk our red carpet across the festival nights.

Live Orchestral Score
02 / 05

Live Orchestral Score

A 40-piece orchestra performs iconic film scores, alongside contemporary OST by celebrated composers.

The Awards Night
03 / 05

The Awards Night

A grand black-and-gold ceremony honouring excellence across feature, OTT, ad-films, shorts and documentaries.

Press & Media Interaction
04 / 05

Press & Media Interaction

Curated press junkets, live podcasts and intimate roundtables with our jury and laureates.

Winners' Spotlight
05 / 05

Winners' Spotlight

Long-form winner interviews, masterclasses and a closing-night gala for our laureate community.

Open for Entries

Send us the film
that won't let you sleep.

Submissions are open now. 1st window closes 15 October 2026; 2nd & final window 16 – 30 October. Results on 15 November. Feature films, short films, documentaries, music albums, OTT films, ad films and individual singing — in every language, every format.

Submit Your Movie
Stay in the Spotlight

Want updates from the festival?

Selections, jury announcements, ticket releases, after-parties — we'll write rarely, and only when it matters.