'Mukti Bhawan' opens 6th Dharamshala International Film Fest

With a wide variety of cinema to offer aficionados, the sixth edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) opened here today.
The festival kicked off with Shubhashish Bhutiani's "Mukti Bhawan" which received a resounding applause.
The film was screened at Hermann Gmeiner Auditorium in the Tibet Children's Village School.
The evening began with the junior students of the school singing a Tibetan song, while their seniors played instruments. The venue was decorated by students of NIFT Kangra.
Co-director of the festival Ritu Sarin said it was another exciting year for independent films.
"We have so many talented filmmakers representing indie films from India and across the world sitting under one roof today. It means a lot that you all have come again this year to share your work so warmly," Sarin said.

Co-director Tenzing Sonam said it was a great year again and the DIFF was a good step "to bridge the gap between independent cinema and the people".

The main lead of "Mukti Bhawan" Adil Hussain presented the film at the festival.
"I am thankful that you all are here. I am also a little nervous as my teacher, Barry John, is here, who can now find fault with my performance," said Hussain.
Hussain will also hold a Master class, where he will discuss his life and work experiences through his diverse range of filmography.
This year under the DIFF Film Fellows Programme, five upcoming directors - Sidharth Chauhan, Sazzad Hussain, Renuka Soraisam, Jenifer Datta and Piyush Kanga - have been selected by a jury panel to encourage fresh talent in the Himalayan regions of the country.

For greater community outreach, community and special screenings of indie movies, film appreciation contests in schools and colleges will be conducted during the festival.
The line-up of the festival boasts of 25 films from around the world.
Critically-acclaimed Indian movies such as "A Death in the Gunj", "Ajji", "Village Rockstars", "Machines", "Angamaly Diaries" and India's official entry to the Oscars next year "Newton" will also be screened.
The DIFF will showcase titles like autobiographical documentary, "Abu" from Pakistani filmmaker Arshad Khan, American documentary "Cameraperson" based on the hardships faced by a photographer highlighting the ever burning issue of racism, Japanese drama "Her Mother" among others.

The festival will also hold the a panel discussion "Charting Troubled Waters", where directors Mano Kahlil, Yaniv Berman, Yoshiniro Sato, among others, will discuss the difficulties faced by them while pursuing cinema.
Another discussion, "The State of The Independents", will see Indian filmmakers come together to weigh in the scene of indie cinema in the country.
Spread over four days, the festival will also present Children's Films namely - "Tokri" (The Basket) from India, "Heidi" and animation "My Life As A Zucchini" representing Switzerland, "Revolting Rhymes" - a British animated adaptation of stories by Roald Dahl and "The Day My Father Became A Bush" from the Netherlands.