National Film Awards are one of the oldest and prestigious awards for the Indian film fraternity. It is being conducted on behalf of the government. As a result it is an important achievement for the artistes.

Both the mainstream films and the parallel cinema are recognised through the National Film Awards. In fact it is one of the award ceremonies where the regional films play an important role. The National Film Awards provided opportunities to directors like Girish Kasaravalli, Budhdhadeb Dasgupta, Aparna Sen, Govindan Aravindan and several others to introduce their art to the rest of the country.

The National Film Awards are classified into the Golden Lotus Award and the Silver Lotus Awards.