Where once the guns blazed

'Awam Ka Cinema', a movement of grassroot cinema that started from Ayodhya in 2006, is taking its caravan of stories to the high altitude Ladakh territory for a two-day film festival starting tomorrow.

While most Indians associate Kargil with little more than the 1999 conflict, the people associated with the movement want to redefine the image of the border region.

"Some remarkable and meaningful films will be showcased during the festival. This film festival will prove to be an unusual gift for the people of Ladakh," an organiser from the Kargil Film Society said.

The screening list for the festival includes 21 short films -- documentaries, fiction as well as two animations -- that will be showcased at the Indoor Stadium Hall in Kargil over the next two days.

The aim of the festival is to reach out to the people of the area, which is cut off from the outside world for six months because of snow, and establish a link for regular exchanges and sharing of ideas.

The group believes that meaningful cinema which focuses on social issues has relatively limited audience which is often scattered in different areas, making it difficult for filmmakers who chose to make such films to reach out to their audience.

For this reason, the organisers hold film festivals in smaller cities and regions. Even the contributors are budding film makers who do not get exposure in larger festivals. (MORE)