Meta ends Edits Film Festival in Mumbai, spotlighting creator editing on Instagram

Meta wrapped up the Edits Film Festival in Mumbai on Tuesday, bringing more than 100 content creators together for a finale that highlighted how everyday phone footage can be turned into story-driven Instagram videos using Edits, Meta’s video editing app. Filmmaker Farah Khan attended as a special guest and drew a link between professional filmmaking and the spontaneity she says drives what performs on Instagram.

According to Meta, the festival opened for submissions in August and ran for 45 days. Creators were encouraged to submit a piece of content made from unpolished videos stored on their camera rolls, then edited using Edits. Meta said the official selection shown at the event reflected this premise of starting with raw clips rather than highly produced material.

The festival’s top three submissions were selected by a jury made up of Ahsaas Channa, Dolly Singh, Nikhil Taneja and Rajeev Masand. The winners were Ishank Gupta (@), Sanya Rohillaa (@bunniestbunnytoeverbunnny) and Ahsan Vazir (@ahsan_vazir__). Meta said the winning entries stood out for diverse storytelling and for how creators used Edits features within their videos.

Meta’s head of global partnerships for India, Ankit Rihal, framed the effort as part of Meta’s broader push to support creators through tools, platforms and opportunities. In remarks at the event, Rihal said the festival was meant to open up creative possibilities and encourage experimentation with features creators may not have used before.

Farah Khan, who spoke during the event, described her approach to content creation as less planned than audiences might assume. She said she does not overthink what she posts, pointing to Gen Z as inspiration for a more nonchalant style that avoids second-guessing.

Khan said she leans into spontaneity, relatability and realness, often with humor, as factors she believes audiences respond to on Instagram. Her comments also connected her background in feature filmmaking for theaters with her experience producing online content for Reels, presenting the festival as a bridge between cinematic craft and short-form social video.

Edits, the festival’s focal product, is presented in Meta’s release as the editing layer that allows creators to reshape camera roll footage. While Meta did not break down specific feature capabilities in the event recap, the festival structure itself clarified the intended workflow: start with unpolished clips, then use Edits to package a story for Instagram viewing.

The event’s design also underscores how Meta is using creator programs to encourage repeat usage of Instagram tools. By setting a submission window, spotlighting a curated selection, and then ranking top entries through a jury, the festival creates a pathway from experimentation to public recognition, a pattern common in creator ecosystems where discovery and credibility can drive further audience attention.

Still, Meta’s public description leaves several practical details unclear. The company did not specify how many submissions were received, how the official selection was chosen before the jury picked the top three, or which particular Edits features were most prominent in the winning stories. It also did not disclose whether winners received any material incentives beyond recognition at the festival.

Looking ahead, the next question for creators and advertisers is how Meta will translate festival momentum into ongoing product engagement on Instagram. For the industry, the more immediate watch item is whether similar creator competitions, featuring professional storytellers and media judges, become a regular part of Meta’s India creator strategy as it continues to market editing and short-form video creation tools.