In theatreless Kashmir, film treat gets bigger

M Aamir Khan

Tribune News Service

Srinagar, August 13

There is some good news for cinema lovers as the Kashmir Film Fest is now getting star-studded, bigger and biannual. Held in June, the festival will be back again in November, bringing cheer to the ‘cinema-deprived’ audience in the Valley.

“The festival will be a regular feature now and will be held twice a year. The last edition of the fest received an overwhelming response from the cinema-deprived audience of Kashmir. Our aim is to revive film-watching in Kashmir and the next edition of the festival will be held from November 28 to December 4,” festival director Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan told The Tribune.

The festival is the brainchild of Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, Valley’s well-known actor and filmmaker. The festival, which is held at Tagore Hall, is sponsored by corporates and lasts a week. It offers free screenings with an aim to revive movie- watching in the Valley.

Pertinently, the cinema halls in the Valley were shut soon after the eruption of militancy more than 28 years ago. Even as a few cinemas tried to reopen later, they had to shut again.

Khan said a large number of youth in the Valley were movie watching in the Valley. “As we screened movies and documentaries at Tagore Hall, for many youth it was a first-time experience of viewing films on the big screen,”

The previous festival saw the screening of several films — from cult classics like “Seven Samurai” to Bollywood flicks such as “Sargoshiyan” that was shot in the Valley.

Khan said they had already got a good response for the upcoming festival. “The festival will be bigger as we will invite well-known Bollywood actors and directors. We have already received entries from several foreign countries that will expose our youth and film lovers to world cinema. Moreover, renowned film actors and directors will conduct workshops for the youth so that they get to know the aesthetics of cinema,” he said.

Big picture

• First held in 2017, Kashmir World Film Festival will now be a regular event in Kashmir 
• To be held biannually, the fest brings world cinema to Kashmir — a place without cinema halls
• The last edition featured films and documentaries from Italy, USA, Iran, Korea, Poland, Turkey, Japan and Nepal 
• The fest also holds workshops on cinema for youth by actors and filmmakers