Veteran film critic Meghachandra Kongbam from Manipur has been invited by the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC) under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India, to participate in an international roundtable discussion during the upcoming International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa. The festival is set to begin on November 20, 2025.
The roundtable, titled “Beyond the Thumb – The Role of a Film Critic: A Gatekeeper, an Influencer, or Something Else?”, will be held on November 26 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. at Kala Academy, Goa, as per the IFFI Goa official schedule. The discussion will explore the evolving role of film critics in a digital era defined by instant reviews and influencer culture.
The session will be moderated by Davide Abbatescianni, a Rome-based journalist and international reporter for Cineuropa, who covers European cinema through interviews, reports, and reviews. Other distinguished participants include Barbara Lorey de Lacharrière from France, Deepa Gahlot and Baradwaj Rangan from India, and Elizabeth Kerr from Hong Kong.
Barbara Lorey de Lacharrière is a noted French critic and cultural journalist, contributing to leading European publications such as Die Welt and Neue Zürcher Zeitung, and has served as Artistic Director for international film festivals including Visions du Réel and the Fribourg Film Festival. Deepa Gahlot, National Award-winning critic and author, is one of India’s foremost cultural commentators, while Elizabeth Kerr, a Canadian critic based in Hong Kong, writes for Screen International, The Hollywood Reporter, and South China Morning Post.
Baradwaj Rangan, recipient of the Best Film Critic Award at the 53rd National Film Awards (2006), is known for his analytical writing and editorial work at Film Companion South.
Representing India’s Northeast, Meghachandra Kongbam is a respected film critic and activist based in Imphal and Delhi. A postgraduate in Journalism from Banaras Hindu University and an alumnus of FTII Pune’s Film Appreciation Course, he has written extensively on cinema for over four decades. Currently serving as Executive Member of FIPRESCI-India and President of the Film Society of Manipur, he received the Golden Lotus Award for Best Film Critic at the 63rd National Film Awards (2015). A retired Director of the Department of Information and Public Relations, Government of Manipur, he is also the author of Manipuri Cinema (2021), a seminal work on the region’s film heritage.
According to IFFI authorities, the discussion seeks to redefine the critic’s role beyond mere gatekeeping or influencing, focusing instead on nurturing informed audiences and sustaining meaningful discourse in global cinema culture.