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Home to her for the last 18 years,documentary maker Ritu Sarin,along with her filmmaker husband Tenzing Sonam,wanted to bring alive the magic of real cinema in Dharamsala. “We wanted to give the people a taste of the best in independent cinema,from here and across the world,and at the same time,create a platform for like-minded people to transform this into a movement,” says Sarin,who,along with Sonam,kickstarted the first Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) in 2012. This year,from October 24 to 27,the festival returns for a second time with over 30 films. With the independent wave gaining momentum,Sarin says she feels confident that the audiences will multiply too. “We need more spaces for creative recharge,spontaneous combustion of ideas,and hence the festival,” says Sarin.

Attending the festival will be filmmakers,producers,film critics,film festival directors,and of course,film lovers. This year,Sarin adds,they have a special focus on films with strong social overtones,dealing with issues from urban alienation to women’s rights to illegal migrants. A number of films have young protagonists at their centre,children or teenagers struggling to overcome personal setbacks and dilemmas — such as Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang,Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan,Maximon Monihan’s La Voz,Nilesh Navalakh’s Fandry and Amit Virman’s Menstrual Man. A range of recent short films from India,curated by noted Marathi filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni,will also be presented at the festival.

Eclectic in its structure and appeal,and panoramic in its scope,DIFF’s second edition will open with Ritesh Batra’s The Lunchbox. “Last year,we opened the festival with Hansal Mehta’s Shahid. It is such a great feeling to see it winning critical acclaim now that is released all over,” says Sarin. “Dharamsala is a beautiful,adventurous place,made up of a range of interesting people and cultures,and blessed by The Dalai Lama. All it lacked was a major cultural event that could bring together its diverse residents,” adds Sarin. The DIFF is presented by White Crane Arts & Media Trust,a non-profit organisation to promote contemporary art,cinema and independent media practices in the Himalayan region. Log on to http://www.diff.co.in.