Dharamshala International Film Festival announces initial line-up of films for virtual edition

The organisers of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) have announced the initial line-up of films for its 2020 edition, which will be held virtually from 29 October to 4 November.

The narrative features include Fernanda Valadez’s Identifying Features, Jan Komasa’s award-winning drama Corpus Christi, Isamu Hirabayashi’s Shell and Joint, and Fradique’s magic realist tale Air Conditioner.

The documentaries line-up includes Pearl of the Desert (2020) directed by Pushpendra Singh; A Rifle and a Bag directed by Arya Rothe, Cristina Haneș and Isabella Rinaldi; 76 Days directed by Hao Wu, Weixi Chen and Anonymous; The Kingmaker directed by Lauren Greenfield; Welcome to Chechnya directed by David France; and the Kenyan film Softie directed by Sam Soko.

Besides the film screenings, DIFF has also announced panel discussions and Q&A sessions. Film writer and critic Namrata Joshi will converse with Varun Grover and Juhi Chaturvedi on screenwriting in the Indian independent film space.

Another panel discussion will see award-winning producer and director Shrihari Sathe in talks with South Asian filmmakers such as Mostafa Sarwar Farooki (Bangladesh), Deepak Rauniyar (Nepal), Geethu Mohandas (India), Afia Nathaniel (Pakistan) and Tashi Gyeltshen (Bhutan). The topics will include their personal journeys and the common challenges that filmmakers from the subcontinent face in getting their films made, and what it takes to find audiences worldwide even after making successful first films. 

It was earlier announced that the festival would be held virtually. There are a limited number of passes available. The majority of the festival films will be available to audiences throughout South Asia (SAARC countries), while a limited number will be accessible worldwide. 

Several film festivals across India are adapting to the pandemic and have either postponed their festivals to next year or are organising them virtually.