Kashmir documentary ‘Naqsh-e-Daur’ by Baba Tasaduq Hussain won the best cinematography award, while ‘Tasrufdaar (Djinns of Kashmir)’ by Kapil Mattoo won the best film (J&K select) award. The International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir concluded on Thursday evening, with Iranian film ‘Whisper My Name’ winning the best film award.
“Films from over 30 countries reflect the festival’s scale, but its deeper value lies in the connections it has created. “We must therefore build a two-way relationship welcoming filmmakers from India and the world while creating opportunities for talent from J&K to find audiences and collaborators beyond these borders. “For decades Kashmir travelled to the audiences through the cinema screen. This week, in a sense, the screen came back to Kashmir. I hope that the floating cinema remains one of the defining memories of the first film festival of J&K. But nostalgia cannot define our future. Our ambition must go beyond being a beautiful filming location. J&K must increasingly become a place from where stories emerge, talent is discovered, and films are conceived and created. “Our stories live in our cities, towns and villages, in our languages, literature, music, crafts, history and everyday lives. At the heart of this must be investment in our young people. ‘Whisper My Name’, directed by Rasoul Sadr Ameli from Iran, was adjudged the best film, while the best actor (male) award went to Amin Hayayee for the film. The best actor (female) award went to Taniya Maniktala for ‘Arifa’, while the best director award went to Husnora Rozmatova for ‘The Song Sustoxin’. The best debut film award also went to ‘The Song Sustoxin’. “Tonight, as the first edition of the festival comes to a close, we can say that the idea has found both an audience and a purpose.
One theme that has come through strongly in J&K has far more to offer cinema than landscapes,” Abdullah said at the closing ceremony of the four-day festival. Our landscapes may bring filmmakers here, but our stories are people and our professional filmmaking environment can bring them back,” he said. Their participation in the festival has been encouraging,” he said. Omar said that the film festival had evolved from an idea into a purpose. Over these last four years, the festival has brought film-makers and audiences together, connected established professionals with young aspirants and created a space where the where cinema from Jammu and Kashmir could engage with India and the world,” he said. A young writer meeting a director, an aspiring filmmaker learning from a professional or two people meeting here who may one day make a film together,” he said.
