Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) 2016

Thithi will be the opening night film while India’s Oscar entry Vetri Raman’s Interrogation will close the festival
Dharamshala, October 21, 2016: A total of 45 features and shorts are to screened at the fifth Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) , which is to be held from 3 to 6 November, at the Tibetan Children’s Village, Dharamshala.
Curated by festival directors Ritu Sarin andTenzing Sonam, along with associate director Raman Chawla, filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni (short films programme) and children’s media specialist Monica Wahi (children’s films programme), is being presented in collaboration with long-term partners Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary, the festival is also supported by the Himachal Pradesh government and the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC).
Informinig about this years DIFF Ritu said ,”Raam Reddy’s critically acclaimed Thithi will be the opening night film while India’s Oscar entry Vetri Raman’s compelling Tamil drama Interrogation will close the festival.”
She said that this year’s programme includes feature films, shorts, children’s films, video installations, masterclasses, workshops and community outreach events—offering a selection of the best in contemporary independent cinema. Beside this the DIFF will showcase unconventional, adventurous works that couple cinematic experimentation with pressing political and social concerns.
This year’s festival also has a strong contingent of regional Indian and Asian films. Fifteen filmmakers from across India and the world will present their work at DIFF 2015.Most of the films have been screened at prestigious international festivals and several are making their Indian premieres.
Veteran filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza will also be attending and participating in a conversation with Programmer Curator and Author Aseem Chhabra.
Some of the foreign filmmakers coming include Pimpaka Towira (The Island Funeral), Boo Junfeng (Apprentice), Chow Kwun-Wai (Ten Years), Jeon Soo-il (A Korean in Paris), Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami (Sonita), Sean McAllister (Syrian Love Story), Nguy?n Trinh Thi (Vietnam The Movie), and Tenzin Dasel and Rémi Caritey (Royal Café).
Indian filmmakers participating are Rajiv Ravi (Kammatipaadam), Umesh Kulkarni (Highway), Raam Reddy (Thithi), Sanjeev Kumar (Circles of the Mind) (Man de Phere), Pushpa Rawat (The Turn) (Mordh), and Bauddhayan Mukherji (The Violin Player).
Special local interest this year comes in the form of a Spotlight onKangra Valley which features Dharamshala director Sanjeev Kumar’s feature Man de Phere (Gaddi language); Prabhijit Dhamijia’s short Asmad and Steffi Giaracuni’s documentary about a legendary Himachal architect, Didi Contractor: Marrying the Earth to the Building.