Kashmir film fest attempts to woo youth to embrace art and shun violence

A special film festival has been hosted in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, to encourage youth to take up filmmaking.

Srinagar, July 3: Are you a film buff? Dying to watch and enjoy some of the finest world movies under one roof? Then, how about paying a visit to Srinagar, Kashmir?

You might be thinking, why on earth one has to go to Kashmir and risk so much--as the Valley is currently reeling under violence and turmoil, to watch movies?

Your questions are legitimate. And, so are the concerns of the host of a five-day-long film festival titled--Kashmir World Film Festival--currently underway at Tagore Hall in Srinagar. The festival will end on Wednesday.

The purpose of the festival is not just to provide entertainment to the violence-hit people of the Valley, but to attract youth to be a part of the entertainment industry. Otherwise, as recent reports suggest that a lot of youngsters in Kashmir have left the mainstream and joined militant groups.

Moreover, Kashmiri youth are at the forefront during civilians' protests against the security forces in the Valley, these days.

The main idea behind the festival is to promote film culture and provide a specific platform to the youth of the Valley in filmmaking and acting, said one of the organisers of the festival.

The festival has been hosted by the Actors creative Theatre (ACT), an organisation working in the field of art, film and literature, in collaboration with the Media Education Research Centre, Kashmir University and Film and Television Institute of India, Pune.

Talking to ANI, chairman of the ACT and filmmaker Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, said, "Bollywood and Kashmir share a very old relationship with each other. They cannot be separated. Kashmir is known as photographer's paradise and in the past both Bollywood and international filmmakers have shot their movies in Kashmir."

Khan feels that this festival has come as a relief to the people of Kashmir as they don't have proper sources of entertainment including cinema or any other medium.

He added that by this festival they are trying to involve the youth of Kashmir in filmmaking as it is a great field to work in.

Noted film actress, Alina Mughal, who was also present at the festival feels that "by such initiatives, the youth of Kashmir will get a platform to go out and work in this field."

Several famous Kashmiri writers and filmmakers were honoured on the first day of the festival for their contributions in the field of art and literature.

OneIndia News