DIFF 2022: Festival time in hills

After a two-year hiatus, the best of world cinema and filmmakers will again be back to the Dhauladhars to participate in the 11th Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) from November 3 to 6.

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Film buffs are in for a treat as the festival will showcase 80 films from 32 countries, including 21 feature films, 16 documentaries and 43 short films. In this exhaustive line-up, there are quite a few films to watch out for, says Ritu Sarin, director, DIFF. “There is the Oscar-nominated documentary Writing with Fire by Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Sen.” It tells the story of Khabar Lahariya, a woman-only media collective led by Dalit women journalists in rural UP.

“Another film is the Anurag Kashyap presented Parth Saurabh’s Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar (On Either Sides of the Pond),” adds Sarin. It explores the relationship dynamics of a couple during the lockdown. The film premiered at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.

Ajitpal Singh, whose web series Tabbar received rave reviews, brings to DIFF his debut film Fire in the Mountains after showcasing it at 20 international film festivals the world over. The film that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last year has won eight awards, including the best Indie film at the 2021 Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.

National Award-winner Aditya Vikram Sengupta brings his critically acclaimed Bengali offering Once Upon a Time in Calcutta. The only film from India to premiere at the 78th Venice Film Festival, it tackles the themes of despair, new beginnings and hope. There are more international accolades, including three nominations at the New York Indian Film Festival 2022, the prestigious Circle Award at the Washington DC International Film Festival 2022, and the Grand Jury Prize for Best Feature Film at the 2022 Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles.

From the subcontinent, there is Rehana Maryam Noor, the first Bangladeshi film to be officially selected for the Cannes Film Festival. Protagonist Rehana, a young mother and an assistant professor at a medical college, becomes an unwitting witness to a sexual assault and decides to fight the system on behalf of the student and her daughter.

Independent Chinese film-maker Qiu Jiongjiong brings his much awarded Jiao Ma Tang Hui (A New Old Play). This is Jiongjiong’s first fiction feature that won the Special Jury Prize at Locarno Film Festival.

Gurvinder Singh brings his latest film, Adh Chanani Raat, which premiered at the International Film Festival of Rotterdam. In the film, Gurvinder once again goes back to Punjabi writer Gurdial Singh’s writings for his latest film that traces the difficulties faced by a recently released convict in starting a new life.

The festival, for the first time, will also have a training workshop that will focus on the development of film projects from South Asia suitable for international co-productions. Four mentors from France and South Africa will guide selected filmmakers from India, Nepal and Bangladesh on various aspects of film production as well as story pitching for international co-productions.

An enthusiastic Sarin is looking forward to a crowd of at least 11,000 or perhaps a little more. “After the pandemic, many film aficionados would want to enjoy great cinema in lovely surroundings.”