NEW YORK, May 31 — The New York Indian Film Festival (NYIFF) 2026 concluded its four-day run on Sunday with an awards ceremony, honouring the finest in Indian cinema across ten competitive categories. The festival, held from May 28 to 31 in New York City, brought together filmmakers, artists, and cinephiles celebrating the breadth and diversity of contemporary Indian filmmaking.
Baksho Bondi (Shadowbox) claimed the festival's top honour, winning Best Film, while the Manipuri film Boong emerged as the biggest winner of the evening with three awards — Best Debut Film (selected by the Film Critics Circle of India), Best Director for Lakshmipriya Devi, and Best Child Actor for Gugun Kipgen.
Nikhil Yadav was named Best Actor for his performance in Vimukt, while Meenakshi Jayan took home the Best Actress award for Victoria. The Best Screenplay honour went to Nikhil Mahajan and Prajakt Deshmukh for Tighee. In the non-fiction categories, Deja Vu won Best Documentary Feature and Waai claimed Best Documentary Short, while Jo's Turn won Best Narrative Short.
