The WAVES International Short Film Festival Goa India 3.0 began on Thursday at the Entertainment Society of Goa in Panaji, with organisers launching the four-day event at Maquinez Palace Auditorium I and II.
The festival, scheduled from May 7 to May 10, has drawn participation from filmmakers, artists and cinema enthusiasts from different parts of India and abroad.
The opening ceremony was attended by BJP Goa Pradesh President Damu Naik and Deputy Mayor of the Corporation of the City of Panaji Vasant Ashok Agshikar.
Festival organisers said this year’s edition received 632 entries, of which 214 films were selected for screening across the four-day programme.
The festival lineup includes films in multiple languages including Hindi, Malayalam, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Rajasthani, Assamese, Marathi, Kashmiri, English, Odia, Haryanvi, Portuguese, Gujarati, Spanish, Persian, Indonesian, Bhojpuri and Turkish.
Organisers also highlighted the participation of more than 40 Konkani films, describing it as a significant representation of regional storytelling and Goan cultural identity.
Speaking during the inauguration, Damu Naik said, “I congratulate the entire team of WAVES International Short Film Festival for putting up this festival and I am sure that the WAVES will grow more and will definitely become a brand”.
Deputy Mayor Vasant Ashok Agshikar said the city administration welcomed such cultural events in Panaji.
“On behalf of CCP I welcome this festival. Panaji has been an administrative hub but as the CCP we are very pleased to have such festivals in Panaji, where the culture is displayed. And it gives me immense pleasure to see the films of the local inmates are being screened in this festival. This is a great platform for the film fraternity to showcase their work. I wish all the success to WISFF 3.0,” he said.
The event also features participation from film professionals including cinematographer Rafey Mahmood, filmmaker Akshay Parvatkar and filmmaker and creative head Jojo Dsouza.
Mahmood is known for his work on films such as Ankhon Dekhi and Pagglait, while Parvatkar’s work has focused on local narratives rooted in Goa. Dsouza has also been exploring the use of artificial intelligence tools in filmmaking workflows.
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