5th Kashmir World Film Festival inaugurated

Srinagar, Nov 1:  The 5th edition of the Kashmir World Film Festival (KWFF) commenced at Tagore Hall, Srinagar bringing together filmmakers, artists, and audiences from across India and abroad to celebrate storytelling through film.

This year’s edition received 123 film submissions, of which 60 have been shortlisted for screening. 55 films are competing in the official competition section, while five will be showcased in the non-competition category. The festival’s international line-up features films from Bangladesh, Egypt, Germany, Iran, Nepal, Palestine, Sri Lanka, and the UAE. Indian entries span a wide linguistic and cultural range, including Kashmiri, Dogri, Assamese, Bengali, Gujarati, Hindi, Ladakhi, Malayalam, Marathi, Odia, Pahadi, Punjabi, Tamil, Tibetan, and Urdu films, said an official press release.

The inaugural ceremony was graced by renowned film and television personalities including Raza Murad, Shishir Sharma, Jayati Bhatia, and Sunit Tandon. Rajit Kapur, Madhur Bhandarkar, and Lalit Parimoo are expected to join the festival in the coming days.

Beginning Sunday ( November 2), the festival will also host interactive sessions with acclaimed Bollywood directors and actors, alongside workshops and masterclasses on various aspects of filmmaking, offering an immersive learning experience for cinema enthusiasts and aspiring filmmakers. Prominent film and television figures from Jammu and Kashmir were also present.