By:Himvani
The Dharamshala International Film Festival 2015 (5-8 November) has announced the first five films that will be part of its line-up of cutting-edge independent cinema.
The festival in collaboration with the Asian Cultural Council will be bringing in three international filmmakers to present their films at DIFF this year. Veteran Japanese documentary maker, Kaoru Ikeya, will attend the festival for the international premiere of his poignant new film, Lung Ta (2015). The film follows Kazuhiro Nakahara, as he explores the phenomenon of self-immolations in Tibet and travels with him to some of their locations in his bid to understand the reasons behind them.
Another filmmaker Maw Naing will be present in the film festival with his debut feature, The Monk (2014). This sensitively filmed, coming-of-age story subtly captures the changes Burma is going through as traditional Buddhist values collide with the allure of big city.
The Dharmshala International Film Festival will also welcome Hoang Diep Nguyen with her startlingly original first film, Flapping In The Middle of Nowhere (2014). The film has been a winner of the Fedeora Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival, as the film is a hallucinatory ride into the depths of inner city Hanoi where a pregnant teenager struggles to make a sense of her situation.
And finally, the film festival of 2015 will also screen Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary, The Act of Killing (2012), and his latest film, The Look of Silence (2014), which has won awards at the Venice Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. The films are in tandem with each other and explore the effects of the Indonesian genocide on the survivors and perpetrators.
The 4th edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival will take place at McLeodganj from 5th to 8th November 2015. Longtime residents of Dharamshala, Indian-Tibetan filmmaking couple Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, have initiated the film festival with an aim to bring high quality independent cinema to Dharamshala and encourage local filmmaking talent and create a meaningful platform for all the communities in the area. More information on this can be had from logging on to http://www.diff.co.in.
The festival has opened up registration for the DIFF 2015 special delegate pass, which gives them an access not only to the entire festival but also to the screening of the opening night film and an exclusive cocktail party with invited guests and musical night at the main venue.
The Dharamshala Film Fellows Program is accepting submissions from aspiring filmmakers from the Himalayan Region. And as part of the program the five chosen applicants will attend screenings, master classes, and workshops that would be held by visiting filmmakers and industry professionals. The selected participants will also have the opportunity to engage in special one-on-one mentorship sessions with visiting filmmakers. The application deadline is 15th September 2015 and more details and application form can be found at http://diff.co.in/difffilmfellows/.
