7th Dharamshala International Film Festival announcing its programming highlights

7^th Dharamshala International Film Festival McLeod Ganj, 1 – 4 November 2018 announces its programming highlights

`The highlights include Indian films, Thithi co-writer Ere Gowda’s debut feature in Kannada, Balekempa, Angamaly Diaries director, Lijo Jose Pellissery’s next Malayalam feature, Ee.Ma.Yau, Avani Rai’s award-winning documentary Raghu Rai: An Unframed Portrait and This year’sSpotlight on Himachal includes the North Indian premiere of Ridham Janve’s The Gold-Laden Sheep and the Sacred Mountain, a Gaddi-language feature film set in the Dhauladhar mountains with a cast of non-professional Gaddi shepherds~

~The international highlights include, Boom for Real (Sara Driver, USA, 2018), Father to Son (Hsiao Ya-chuan, Taiwan, 2018), In the Intense Now (João Moreira Salles, Brazil, 2017), The Red Phallus (Tashi Gyeltshen, Bhutan, 2018) Namme (Zaza Khalvashi, Georgia/Lithuania, 2017) A Long Way Home (Luc Schaedler, Switzerland, 2018) Little Forest (YIM Soon-rye, South Korea, 2018), Ryuichi Sakamoto: Coda (Stephen Nomura Schible, USA/Japan, 2017)~

~DIFF is hosting the first Dharamshala-PJLF Editing Workshop. This is supported by NFDC. Two director-editor teams will be selected from across the country and mentored by internationally renowned editor Jacques Comets who co-headed the editing department at France’s leading film school, La Femis, along with editor and Artistic Director of the Kerala International Film Festival, Bina Paul, and producer and script/editing mentor Olivia Stewart~

Filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni has curated a selection of the best of current Indian shorts. The popular DIFF Children’s Film Programme is once again curated by Children’s Media Specialist, Monica Wahi~

 Mumbai, September 28 2018: The seventh Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) will take place from 1 to 4 November 2018 in the beautiful mountain town of McLeod Ganj, Dharamshala – home of His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the meeting point of a rich and cosmopolitan mix of people and cultures.

DIFF is presented by White Crane Arts & Media, a trust founded by filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam to promote contemporary cinema, art and independent media practices in the Himalayan regions of India.

The first edition of DIFF was held in 2012. Since then, it has established itself as one of India’s leading independent film festivals. DIFF’s cutting-edge and eclectic programming – which includes many India premieres – and its policy of inviting as many directors as possible has made it one of the go-to events in any cinephile’s calendar. Last year, the films and side programmes at DIFF attracted a viewership of around 6000, of which at least 60% were from out of town from places as far away as Kerala, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Mumbai. Some of India’s best-known film critics and journalists from leading media houses were on hand to cover the event.

This year, for the third time in a row, the festival will take place in the peaceful environs of the Tibetan Children’s Village, a short distance from McLeod Ganj. Along with the two existing auditoriums at the school, this year DIFF is excited to partner with Delhi-based PictureTime to set up a mobile digital theatre with state-of-the-art projection facilities at the festival venue.

Festival Director Ritu Sarin says, “We endeavour to bring a slate of unusual and trailblazing narrative, documentary and short films from around the world, as well as showcasing some of the best recent Indian independent cinema, making it a rich experience for our audience.”

Festival directors Ritu and Tenzing are delighted with the way DIFF has evolved over the years and are determined to consolidate and improve upon the standards set by previous editions. Ritu says, “A festival like DIFF, taking place in a small town with very few resources and no cinema tradition as such, requires the support and dedication of numerous individuals and organisations, as well as interns and volunteers whose enthusiasm and passion are the engine that drives our festival.” I am grateful to our long-term collaborators Thyssen-Bornemsiza Art Contemporary, the Himachal Pradesh Government who is supporting us through its Departments of Tourism and Language, Arts & Culture, and our many partners, including the National Film Development Corporation, PictureTime, Wishberry, and Royal Stag Barrel Select Large Short Films.