The second edition of Dharmashala International Film Festival kick started in Delhi Sept 24 in the presence of eminent filmmakers and DIFF directors, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam. To be held from 24th to 27th October, the hills of Dharamshala will come alive in the capital with the screening of approximately 30 films in different categories including fiction, documentaries, shorts and experimental, carefully selected from the best of contemporary world cinema.
During the announcement of the festival, a panel discussion was also conducted on "Indian Indie Cinema: Coming of Age?" with filmmakers Hansal Mehta, Umesh Kalkarni and Ritu Sarin, and film critic Saibal Chatterjee, which highlighted the challenges faced by independent filmmakers and directors in India today. Hansal Mehta argued that independent cinema needs to operate as a part of the mainstream film industry in India, adding that some big production houses are now moving toward supporting documentaries and independent film. Meanwhile, Umesh Kulkarni elaborated on how the independent cinema industry in India is growing and slowly gaining popularity. During the discussion, Saibal Chatterjee expressed his view that if filmmakers can continue to make and direct good cinema, audiences in India will increasingly acknowledge and appreciate their work. The panellists agreed that festivals like DIFF which celebrate independent cinema are an important platform for achieving this objective.
DIFF 2013 will also witness the premieres of many films during the four day event. These include: Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin's provocative Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer; Polish filmmaker Jacek Borcuch's Sundance award-winning feature, Lasting; Australian director Kate Shortland's moving post-World War II drama, Lore; British artist Shezad Dawood's debut sci-fi feature, Piercing Brightness; and Japanese cult director Takanori Tsujimoto's martial arts extravaganze, Bushido Man.
Moreover, this years festival will lay special emphasis on Indian documentaries with strong social concerns. DIFF 2013 will also present Nishtha Jain's Gulabi Gang, Amit Virmani's Menstrual Man, and Anand Patwardhan's Jai Bhim Comrade.
A number of films have young protagonists at their centre, children or teenagers struggling to overcome a range of personal setbacks and dilemmas. Among these are Kim Mordaunt's coming-of-age drama set in Laos, The Rocket; Dominga Sotomayor's Chilean road movie, Thursday Till Sunday; and the above-mentioned Lore.
DIFF 2013 also have strong representation from the new Indian indie wave. These include, Nagraj Popatrao Manjule's Fandry, and Q's Tasher Desh.
Other notable films screening at the festival are Kleber Mendonça Filho's remarkable first film and the official Brazilian entry to the Oscars, Neighbouring Sounds; Ramon Zürcher's droll and off-beat The Strange Little Cat; Alison Klayman's revealing portrait of China's most famous dissident artist, Ai Wei Wei: Never Sorry; Avijit Mukul Kishore's chronicle of the birth of contemporary Indian art, To Let the World In; Joshua Oppenheimer's much-laudedaward-winning documentary, The Act of Killing; and Prasanna Vithanage's touching Sri Lankan drama, With You, Without You.
An unusual and exciting sidebar, curated in collaboration with Vienna-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation, presents a series of films made by leading international artists, rarely seen outside the gallery space.
Another sidebar showcases the best of recent short films from India, curated by noted Indian filmmaker Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni.
Attending the festival will be filmmakers, producers, film critics, film festival directors, and of course, legions of film lovers, all coming together to celebrate independent cinema in the beautiful mountain setting of Dharamshala. With its unique and intimate atmosphere, the festival will offer visitors an exceptional and exciting opportunity for creative inspiration and the exchange of ideas, rare outside India's metropolitan areas.
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