Kashmir to host maiden international film festival from September 7

Kashmir, long a favoured backdrop for Bollywood films, is set to take centre stage in the world of cinema as Jammu and Kashmir hosts its maiden international film festival from Monday.

The four-day International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJ&K), themed "Rang-e-Cinema" (colours of cinema), will be held from September 7 to 10, with Srinagar as the main venue and events also planned in Jammu, Gulmarg and at Inox, the city's lone multiplex.

Organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations, the festival will bring together international and regional cinema, with a curated selection of films showcasing local storytelling alongside productions from across the world.

One of the highlights will be a floating cinema on Dal Lake, where audiences seated on shikaras will watch films on a screen installed on the water near the Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC).

Officials said the open-air aquatic screening experience is intended to add a distinctive dimension to the festival while presenting Kashmir's natural and cultural landscape to filmmakers, artists and delegates from India and abroad.

Director Information and Public Relations, Jammu and Kashmir, Shreya Singhal said the festival was aimed at reviving the region's cinematic legacy and positioning J-K as a destination for filmmaking and cultural exchange.

The inaugural edition will feature 135 films representing 41 countries, selected from around 1,100 entries received from 92 countries.

"The inaugural edition will showcase an expansive lineup of 135 films representing 41 countries, bringing together diverse cinematic traditions, storytelling formats and creative voices from across the world," Singhal said in a statement.

India will have the largest representation with 64 films, followed by France with 13 and Iran with eight. Argentina and Spain will contribute four films each, while Brazil, Germany, the Russian Federation and the United States will have three films each.

Countries including South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Qatar, Colombia and Turkey will also contribute films, giving the festival a strong international character, Singhal said.

The festival comes with a substantial prize purse, with the Best Film award carrying Rs 25 lakh. Best Director and Best Debut Film of a Director will each carry Rs 15 lakh.

The Best Film in the J&K Select category will receive Rs 10 lakh, while Best Actor (Male) and Best Actor (Female) will carry Rs 8 lakh each.

Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design and Best Editing will carry Rs 5 lakh each.

Singhal said the award structure was designed to recognise not only artistic excellence but also the creative and technical aspects of filmmaking.

Beyond screenings and awards, the festival will feature masterclasses, workshops, in-conversation sessions, panel discussions, roundtables and cultural performances.

A three-day masterclass series will bring aspiring filmmakers, students and cinema enthusiasts face-to-face with professionals from the industry. Participants will include filmmaker and screenwriter Sriram Raghavan, editor Namrata Rao, veteran sound designer Baylon Fonseca, Chittranjan Tripathi from the National School of Drama, Supriyo Sen of IDPA and cinematographer Anil Mehta, among others.

The festival will open with a ceremonial event at Inox in Srinagar, where Lebanese filmmaker Sarah Francis' "Dead Dog" will be screened.

The floating cinema, meanwhile, will take audiences back to films that helped establish Kashmir as one of Bollywood's most recognisable shooting locations. Films shot extensively in the valley, including "Junglee", "Arzoo", "Kashmir Ki Kali" and "Kabhi Kabhie", will be screened on Dal Lake.

The festival's competition entries will be evaluated by a five-member international jury comprising filmmakers, cinematographers, sound artists and film curators.

The jury will be headed by acclaimed cinematographer-director Santosh Sivan and include Oscar and BAFTA-winning sound designer Resul Pookutty, German film curator Dorothee Wenner, media entrepreneur Keiko Bang and National Award-winning filmmaker Himansu Sekhar Khatua.

For decades, Kashmir has featured in the visual imagination of Indian cinema, providing locations for numerous Bollywood films. With the IFFJ&K, officials hope to build on that cinematic legacy and give the region a platform for international filmmaking, creativity, tourism promotion and cultural exchange.

With films from 41 countries, a sizeable prize purse, industry-led masterclasses and an unusual floating cinema on Dal Lake, the first edition is set to put Jammu and Kashmir on the international film festival map.