The Kolkata People’s Film Festival (KPFF) is people-supported, independent and volunteer-led, showcasing contemporary political documentary and fiction cinema from India, Southasia and the Southasian diaspora. Sticking with the slogan of ‘People’s Cinema with People’s Support’ since 2013, KPFF—the festival sans sponsorship logos—is organized entirely on the strength of voluntary labour and financial contributions from audiences and well-wishers. The rejection of any funding, sponsorship, partnership or endorsement from government, corporate, CSR, NGO or other institutional sources, has ensured complete programmatic autonomy and the political edge of KPFF.

The twelfth edition of KPFF will screen thirty-nine films featuring a wide range of compelling stories from India, Southasia and beyond, aiming to explore common themes of labour and migration, raging movements, cultural battles, caste, gender and ethnic struggles, resisting majoritarianisms, erased histories and the ongoing fight against fascist and authoritarian regimes.

KPFF 2026 remembers the Palestinian people who have taught the world resistance, resilience and courage amidst genocide. We have in our hearts Southasian immigrants who suffered indignities abroad. We stand firmly with Bengali migrant workers who have been labelled foreigners and faced brutalities in their own land. We shall overcome!

As we are choked by a near-complete stranglehold over commercial cinema and TV media spaces by the fascist regime at the bidding of corporate oligarchies, building and sustaining political screening spaces that nurture “cinema of the 99%” is the need of the day. We continue to nurture KPFF as a space for re-imaginings, resistance and counterculture.

We welcome you to KPFF 2026. From the screen to the streets, let us rage, resist and love!