Dharamshala: The Dharamshala International Film Festival 2015 (DIFF 2015), has announced the first five films that will be part of its line-up of cutting-edge independent cinema. In collaboration with the Asian Cultural Council, the festival will also be bringing three international filmmakers to present their films at DIFF this year.
Longtime residents of Dharamshala, Indian-Tibetan filmmaking couple Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, who initiated the film festival with the aim to bring high quality independent cinema to Dharamshala said that this year the festival shall be organized from 5-8 November at Mecleodganj Dharamshala .this year the Veteran Japanese documentary maker, Kaoru Ikeya, will attend the festival for the international premiere of his poignant new film, Lung Ta (2015).
Ritu said,”The film follows Kazuhiro Nakahara, as he explores the phenomenon of self immolations in Tibet and travels with him to some of their locations in his bid to understand the reasons behind them.”
She further informed that the Maw Naing will be present with his debut feature, The Monk (2014). This sensitively filmed, coming-of-age story subtly captures the changes Burma is going through as traditional Buddhist values collide with the allure of the big city. We will also welcome Hoang Diep Nguyen to Dharamshala with her startlingly original first film, Flapping in the Middle of Nowhere (2014). Winner of the Fedeora Critics Award at the Venice Film Festival, the film is a hallucinatory ride into the depths of inner-city Hanoi as a pregnant teenager struggles to make sense of her situation.
Finally, returning to DIFF 2015, is Joshua Oppenheimer’s documentary The Act of Killing (2012), and his latest film, The Look of Silence (2014), which has won awards at the Venice Film Festival and Busan International Film Festival. The films are in tandem with each other and explore the effects of the Indonesian genocide on the survivors and perpetrators
Arvind Sharma is an award winning bi-lingual journalist with more than 20 years of experience.
He has worked with Divya Himachal, Dainik Jagran, Dainik Bhasker, Vir Partap, Ajit and PTI.
In 2010, he was conferred the Himachal Kesri journalism award. He reports on the Tibetan Government in Exile, politics, sports, tourism and other topics. He lives in Dharamshala.
