Saqib Rather
Srinagar, Sep 8: Jammu and Kashmir’s emerging filmmaking talent will take centre stage at the inaugural International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK), with five locally helmed films making it to the festival’s competitive J&K Select Section.
The selection brings together films that move beyond conventional portrayals of Kashmir, delving into questions of memory, migration, identity, family, cultural inheritance and the region’s changing social fabric.
The five films shortlisted by the festival’s Preview Committee are Searching for the Grandpa, directed by Mohammad Wali; Arifa, directed by Rohin Ravendran Nair; Batt Koch (The Lost Lane), directed by Siddarth Koul and Ankit Wali; Tasrufdaar (Djinns of Kashmir), directed by Kapil Mattoo; and Naqsh-e-Daur (The Story of Ghulam Nabi Dhar), directed by Baba Tassaduq Hussain.
The films made in Kashmiri and Hindi offer sharply different perspectives on life in the Valley and its people. Together, they reflect a generation of filmmakers attempting to tell stories of Kashmir through intimate human experiences rather than a single dominant narrative.
A festival representative said the selection was aimed at creating a platform for filmmakers from the region whose work reflects its cultural and social diversity.
“The J&K Select Section is an important part of the festival because it gives filmmakers from Jammu and Kashmir a dedicated space to tell their own stories. The selection demonstrates the range of subjects and cinematic voices emerging from the region,” the representative said.
Among the selected films, Searching for the Grandpa takes audiences into a Kashmiri village during Eid through the eyes of two young siblings, while Arifa follows a woman who returns to her ancestral home and is forced to confront memories associated with her childhood and her father.
Batt Koch (The Lost Lane), by Siddarth Koul and Ankit Wali, examines displacement and the emotional meaning of home through the experience of a Kashmiri migrant family. Tasrufdaar (Djinns of Kashmir) blends mystery and memory while engaging with the lingering wounds of Kashmir’s past.
The fifth entry, Naqsh-e-Daur (The Story of Ghulam Nabi Dhar), turns the camera towards Kashmir’s traditional craftsmanship. The film chronicles the life and legacy of Padma Shri awardee and renowned woodcarver Ghulam Nabi Dhar, offering a portrait of artistic perseverance and cultural heritage in downtown Srinagar.
The Preview Committee, constituted for the festival, evaluated the submissions on artistic merit and their suitability for the competitive section before recommending the final five.
A member associated with the selection process said the films stood out for their distinct treatment of subjects closely connected with the region.
“What makes these films significant is the variety of stories they bring together. There are stories about childhood and family, but also about displacement, memory, heritage and resilience. Each filmmaker approaches Kashmir from a different vantage point,” the committee member said.
The five films will compete as part of the four-day IFFJK programme, where they will be screened before festival audiences and filmmakers. The J&K Select Section is expected to provide a platform for greater visibility of regional cinema while encouraging conversations between local filmmakers and audiences.
For Kashmir’s film community, the competitive section also represents an opportunity to place locally produced cinema within a broader international festival setting.
“A festival becomes meaningful when local voices are not merely an audience but also part of the cinematic conversation. These films allow audiences outside the region to encounter Kashmir through stories created by filmmakers connected to the place,” the festival representative said. With narratives ranging from personal memory and childhood to migration, folklore and traditional art, the five-film selection presents a varied cinematic portrait of Jammu and Kashmir—one that places ordinary lives, cultural memory and lived experience at the heart of the screen.
