The 49th International Film Festival of India was a film festival held from 20 to 28 November 2018 in Goa. In the 49th event new sections such as "Sketch on Screen (Animation Film Package)", "A Retrospective of Masters" are inculcated. 212 films were being showcased during the event, with Israel being the country of focus.
On 22 November 2018 delegates who had gathered to watch the Danish crime thriller The Guilty began protesting at Kala Academy when they were not allowed to enter the theater. This led to a clash between them and the organizers. In the resulting argument, Rajendra Talak, vice-chairman of the Entertainment Society of Goa (ESG), was quoted as asking delegates from Kerala to "go back home". A complaint was filed by Kerala-based director Kamal KM to IFFI CEO, Ameya Abhyankar. Following this, 29 other Malayali delegates, including 11 National Film winners like Dileesh Pothen and Dr Biju, signed a petition requesting a formal apology from Talak. When asked to comment, Talak replied that he had told the delegates to go back as the show was housefull.