Himalayan Film Festival to begin in Leh on Sep 24

The Himalayan Film Festival will get off on September 24 in Leh, Ladakh’s capital city, according to organizers. Film celebrities such as Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Vidhu Vinod Chopra will attend the five-day film festival. Shershaah, a biography about Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra, directed by Sidharth Malhotra, will be played during the opening ceremony, followed by The Shepherdess of Glacier. On September 28, the event will come to a close.

The Himalayan Film Festival is hosted by the Ladakh government in conjunction with the Directorate of Film Festivals (DIFF) and the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. Anurag Singh Thakur, the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting, Youth Affairs, and Sports, will be the prominent guest at the event. The festival is part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, which commemorates India’s 75th anniversary of independence. The film festival will feature active involvement from local filmmakers and exhibit talents from across several Himalayan states and UTs, in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s demand for Jan Bhagidhari.

The movie gala will feature popular films from Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh, as well as Indian Panorama-selected films.

During the festival, there will be masterclasses in editing by Priya Krishnaswamy, wildlife by Nallamuthu, direction by Nila Madhab Panda, and acting by Phonsok Ladakhi. The masterclasses are designed to offer emerging and seasoned filmmakers essential skills and networking opportunities. The In-conversation seminars will feature well-known cinema personalities such as Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Kirti Kulhari. There will also be a competition area for short films and documentaries to honor the Himalayan region’s creative filmmakers.

Sidharth Malhotra’s latest release Shershaah, a biopic on Kargil war hero Captain Vikram Batra, will be screened at the opening ceremony, while The Shepherdess of Glacier will bring the curtains down.