Press Release
Srinagar, 1st November 2025: The fifth edition of the festival commenced today at Tagore Hall, Srinagar, marking a vibrant celebration of cinematic art and cultural exchange.
The inaugural ceremony was graced by renowned film and television personalities including Raza Murad, Shishir Sharma, Jayati Bhatia, and Sunit Tandon. These distinguished guests were felicitated with mementos and traditional shawls as a token of appreciation. Rohit Kumar, Madhur Bhandarkar, and Lalit Parimoo are expected to join the festivities in the coming days.
Special guests from Jammu and Kashmir’s film and television fraternity were also invited and honored. The list includes Tariq Javaid, Dr. Aiyash Aarif, Ashraf Shawl, G. M. Wani, Deepak Kumar, Ameen Bhat, Mushtaq Bala, Shahzad Rasool, Waheed Jeelani, Gul Javaid, Mir Sarwar, and Shahid Lateef.
This year’s edition received an impressive 123 film submissions. Of these, 60 films have been shortlisted for screening — 55 in the official competition section and 5 in the non-competition category.
The festival proudly showcases international entries from Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Nepal, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and the United Arab Emirates. Indian submissions span a rich linguistic and cultural spectrum, featuring films in Kashmiri, Dogri, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Ladakhi, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Pahadi, Punjabi, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu.
Starting tomorrow, the festival will host interactive sessions with acclaimed Bollywood directors and actors, along with filmmaking workshops and masterclasses covering various aspects of the craft.
