Team - National Indian Film Festival of Australia (NIFFA) | 2025

Team

Team

Anupam Sharma is the founder and festival director of Australia’s first and only National celebration of Indian Cinema – NIFFA. Anupam is an award-winning filmmaker and film entrepreneur with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Films & Theatre, and a post-graduate thesis on Indian cinema from University of NSW.

Founder and Festival Director

Anupam Sharma

Peter has worked in entertainment journalism, film exhibition, distribution and marketing and festival programming and management for all of his professional life. He is a highly experienced festival and film marketing consultants and manager.

Festival Co-director

Peter Castaldi

Founder and Festival Director

Anupam Sharma

Anupam Sharma is the founder and festival director of Australia’s first and only National celebration of Indian Cinema – NIFFA. Anupam is an award winning filmmaker and film entrepreneur with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Films & Theatre, and a post-graduate thesis on Indian cinema from University of NSW.

Festival Co-director

Peter Castaldi

Peter has worked in entertainment journalism, film exhibition, distribution and marketing and festival programming and management for all of his professional life. He is a highly experienced festival and film marketing consultants and manager.

Nomination Council

Achala Datar

Nomination Council

Deepti Sachdeva

Nomination Council

Neeru Saluja

Nomination Council

Amruta Apte

Financial Advisor

Manish Sundarjee

Festival EP (India)

Raunak Dhupar

Festival EP (Australia)

Farabee Kabir

Accountant

Nina Prokhorova

Media Advisor

Victoria Buchan

Cinema & Diversity Consultant

Sadhana Jethanandani

Festival Media Relation (Australia)

Kelly Stambanis

Festival Media Relation (India)

Hema Upadhyay

Brand Design, Website & Graphics

40 Graphix

Social Media Manager (India)

Manasvi Rautela

Social Media Manager (Australia)

Saesha Senanayake

Producer Queensland

Seema

Consultant Event Producer (Australia)

Dave Sidhu

Consultant Cinematographer

Guru Singh

Festival Founder and Director

Anupam Sharma

Anupam Sharma is the founder and festival director of Australia’s first and only National celebration of Indian Cinema – NIFFA. Anupam is an award-winning filmmaker and film entrepreneur with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Films & Theatre and a post-graduate thesis on Indian cinema from the University of NSW. Widely credited for pioneering Australia’s film links with Bollywood/India, he was named as one of the fifty most powerful and influential Australian film professionals. Anupam is the founding head of TEMPLE, a prolific and award-winning international film production and consultancy firm based out of Disney Studios – Sydney, where he has led a team of film professionals on over 415 projects as producer, EP, or Line Producer.

Anupam is a rare film festival director who is also a prolific filmmaker (Click for his Film Making Profile). He has pioneered unique Indian film festivals in Australia and Australian film festivals in India starting with one of the first Indian films festivals in Sydney called “Bossom, Belly, and Bollywood” by AFTRS and Safina Uberoi, and then was a consultant on Sydney City’s Goat Island Festival of Indian Cinema in 2000 by Peter Castaldi.

Anupam and his team were awarded a prestigious DFAT (Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – Australia) contract to promote Australian films in India at various festivals between 2004 and 2007 when he produced delegations to India and curated Australian films with his team and support from Australian Film Commission.

Anupam Sharma and Peter Castaldi then launched An Australian Film Initiative producing Australian film festival around India with support from Hugh Jackman, Baz Luhrman, and Philip Noyce among others. producing Australian film festivals in India. He has been on the advisory council of Asia Pacific Screen Awards , and advisor (India) on the Australian Academy of Cinema TV and Arts (AACTA) Asia Initiative.

Anupam was voted as Chair of Australia India Film Council the first and only Australian film council promoting film links between Australia and India. In recognition of his work in films and diversity, Anupam has been appointed as an Australia Day Ambassador and appointed to the board of the Diversity Task Force of Screen Queensland.

He has advised many government and private bodies in relation to Indian films, including Baz Luhrman’s Moulin Rouge, the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade, Governments of Queensland and NSW among others. In 2012 he was the chief judge and advisor to the first India-centric Australian reality television show on SBS – Bollywood Star.

He is a respected commentator and frequent speaker at various conferences and on television/radio programs including the ABC, the Nine Network, SBS TV, SPA, Art Gallery of NSW, and the Powerhouse Museum.