“Beyond bringing cinema to the Valley, Jammu and Kashmir’s first International Film Festival shifts the region from a passive silver-screen backdrop into an active author of its own global story.
The first International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir has done something more significant than bringing films, actors and filmmakers to the Valley. It has opened a much larger conversation about how Jammu and Kashmir sees itself—and how the outside world sees it. For decades, Kashmir has been one of Indian cinema’s most recognisable landscapes. Its mountains, lakes, gardens and snow-covered slopes have provided the backdrop for countless songs and films. Yet, paradoxically, the people of Kashmir have often remained peripheral to the stories being told against their own landscape. The emergence of a new generation of local filmmakers now offers an opportunity to change that equation. The Jammu and Kashmir International Film Festival, therefore, deserves to be viewed not simply as a cultural event but as the beginning of a potentially important cinematic ecosystem in the region. The festival’s J&K Select section is particularly encouraging. Films such as Searching for the Grandpa, Arifa, Batt Koch (The Lost Lane), Tasrufdaar (Djinns of Kashmir) and Naqsh-e-Daur (The Story of Ghulam Nabi Dhar) demonstrate that Kashmir has stories that do not require an imported lens to become compelling. These films touch upon childhood, family, memory, displacement, identity, mystery, traditional craftsmanship and the changing social landscape. In doing so, they present Kashmir not merely as a picturesque location but as a living society with complex experiences, rich traditions and extraordinary human stories. Naqsh-e-Daur, for instance, chronicles the life and legacy of Padma Shri awardee Ghulam Nabi Dhar, a woodcarver from downtown Srinagar. Such stories are invaluable because they preserve aspects of Kashmir’s cultural heritage that could otherwise disappear from public memory. Similarly, Batt Koch explores displacement and the enduring meaning of home, while Searching for the Grandpa brings an intimate rural Kashmiri experience to the screen. This is precisely the direction Kashmir’s film culture needs. The presence of established names from the Hindi film industry has added visibility to the festival. Actor Divyenndu Sharma’s observation that Kashmir should not be reduced to songs and scenic sequences is particularly relevant. Filmmaker Imtiaz Ali’s emphasis on creating an ecosystem for local artists and actor Pankaj Tripathi’s recognition of young Kashmiris making short films, often with limited resources and mobile phones, point towards a larger transformation already underway. The message is clear: talent exists. What is required now is an ecosystem capable of nurturing it. This is where the government’s role becomes important.
“Kashmir’s cinematic success isn’t about hosting Bollywood shoots—it’s about empowering local filmmakers to capture their own stories. Building on the spark of IFFJK, the focus must shift from using the Valley as a background canvas to investing in Kashmiris holding the camera, writing the scripts, and taking their voices global.”
Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo’s call for a sustainable cinematic ecosystem, with greater emphasis on film education, skill development, investment, incentives and an effective single-window clearance mechanism, is a welcome step. A thriving film industry cannot be built around festivals alone. It requires institutions, infrastructure, trained technicians, production facilities, financing, distribution networks and predictable policies. Jammu and Kashmir has several natural advantages. Its landscapes are unmatched, its cultural diversity is rich, and its history and folklore offer an enormous reservoir of stories. But the real opportunity lies in combining these advantages with local human capital. Film schools, workshops and mentorship programmes can give young people opportunities to learn direction, cinematography, editing, sound design, screenwriting and production. Local theatres and screening platforms can create audiences. Incentives can attract professional productions, while simplified permissions can make the region more accessible to filmmakers. At the same time, Kashmir must avoid the temptation of producing cinema merely to satisfy an external image of the region. The strongest films will emerge when local filmmakers are free to tell authentic stories—stories of ordinary people, aspirations, traditions, struggles, humour, relationships and change. The success of Kashmir’s cinematic future should ultimately be measured not by the number of Bollywood films shot here, but by the number of Kashmiri filmmakers who can tell their own stories and find audiences beyond the Valley. IFFJK has provided an important beginning. The challenge now is to ensure that the festival becomes more than an annual celebration. It should become a catalyst for sustained investment in creativity and talent. Kashmir has long been a canvas for cinema. It is time for Kashmiris to hold the camera, write the scripts and tell the stories.
