BySukant Deepak

October 30, 2020 (IANSlife) The ninth edition of one of India’s most well-regarded and intimate film festivals, the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) made its online debut on Thursday (October 29- November 4).

Founded by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, the festival had its inaugural edition in 2012 and has been a major attraction for film buffs from India and abroad.

Boasting of the widest slate of programming yet with over 100 films from 40 countries including feature narratives, documentaries and shorts from around the world, this year’s edition includes works that expand the frontiers of cinematic language, updating in often unexpected and delightful ways, the art of visual story-telling. 

Some of the Feature Narratives that are part of DIFF 2020 are: Aidol (dir. Lawrence Lek | UK), Baby Teeth (dir. Shannon Murphy | Australia), Exile (dir. Visar Morina | Germany, Belgium, Kosovo), The Fever (dir. Maya Da-Rin | Brazil, France, Germany) Gaza Mon Amour (dir.Tarzan Nasser, Arab Nasser |  Palestine/France/Germany/Portugal/Qatar), The Last Days of Spring (dir. Isabel Lamberti | Netherlands, Spain)  Martin Eden (dir. Pietro Marcello | Italy), Vai (dir. Whippy, ‘Ofa-Ki-Levuka Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Matasila Freshwater, Amberley Jo Aumua, Mīria George, Marina Alofagia McCartney, Dianna Fuemana, Becs Arahanga | New Zealand), We Are Little Zombies (dir. Makoto Nagahisa | Japan), Yalda A Night for Forgiveness (dir. Massoud Bhakshi | Iran/France/Germany/Switzerland).

International Documentaries include Areum Married (dir. Areum Parkkang | South Korea), Land of My Father (dir. Matthew J Koshmrl | South Korea), Notturno (dir. Gianfranco Rosi | Italy/France/Germany | 2020), Notturno (dir. Gianfranco Rosi | Italy, France, Germany) On a Clear Day You can See the Revolution from Here (dir. Emma Charles, Ben Evans James | UK), Ophir (dir. Alexandre Berman, Olivier Pollet | France), Our Time Machine (dir. Yang Sun, S. Leo Chiang | China),  Reunited (dir. Mira Jargil | Denmark),  The Story of Plastic (dir. Deia Schlosberg | USA), Unlocking Doors of Cinema (dir. Nezar Andary | UAE), Visions of a Teacher (dir. Jaap Verhoeven | Netherlands), We Have Boots (dir. Evans Chan | Hong Kong).

The range of Shorts includes: Bittu (dir. Karishma Dev Dube | India); Wig (dir. Atanu Mukherjee | India); Yarne (dir. Andrew Krakower | USA); Bare Trees in the Mist (dir. Rajan Kathet | Nepal); Laali (dir. Abhiroop Basu) Stray Dogs Come Out at Night (dir. Hamza Bangash | Pakistan); and The Sea (dir. Cameron Richards | UK.

Some of the Indian Documentaries as part of the programme include Bread and Belonging (dir. Sonia Filinto), Bound by Us (dir, Chinmoy Sonowal) Chachan, A Day (dir. J J Abraham), Desire (dir. Garima Kaul), Fathima the Oracle (dir. Geleck Palsang), Ghar Ka Pata (dir. Madhulika Jalali), Grace (dir. Smarak Samarjeet), High Grounds(dir. Rajiv Malu), Holy Rights (dir. Farha Khatun), Iron Khan (dir. Naseer Khanday), Mummy (dir. Aditi Mody),On the Edge of Life (dir, Nikhilesh Mattoo), Our Mountain Valley Home (dir. Amartya Ray), Son Rise (dir. Vibha Bakshi), That Cloud Never Left (dir. Yashaswini Raghunandan).

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Sukant Deepak can be contacted at sukant.d@ians.in