Like a Movie Production

In the audience will be filmmakers,producers,film critics,film festival directors,and of course,legions of film lovers. The special focus this year is 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 a range of personal setbacks and dilemmas. For instance,Nishtha Jain’s Gulabi Gang,Nitin Kakkar’s Filmistaan,Maximon Monihan’s La Voz,Nilesh Navalakh’s Fandry,Mike Lerner’s and Maxim Pozdorovkin’s Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer,Anand Patardhan’s Jai Bhim Comrade,Jacek Borcuch’s Lasting,Jennifer Baichwal’s Watermark,Prasanna Vithanage’s With You Without You,Sange Dorjee Thongdok’s Crossing Bridges,and Qaushiq Mukherjee’s Tasher Desh.

Curated in collaboration with Vienna-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation,the DIFF will also present a series of films made by leading international artists,rarely seen outside a gallery. A range of recent short films from India,curated by noted Marathi filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni,will also be presented.

The festival 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. For her,a film festival is like a movie production — the sum total of many people’s hard work,support and cooperation. Presented by White Crane Arts & Media Trust,a non-profit organisation to promote contemporary art,cinema and independent media practices in the Himalayan region,the DIFF is on from October 24 to 27.

For details,log on to http://www.diff.co.in