Dharamshala — Dharamshala International Film Festival announced that this year's film festival will screen over 90 feature films, documentaries, and short films from 40 countries and will begin November 4, 2023 at Upper Tibetan Children's Village School. The film festival will expose local audiences to meaningful independent cinema, promote and encourage regional filmmaking talent, and provide a forum where filmmakers and film-lovers from India and around the world could interact in an informal and intimate way.
The directors of the Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) Ritu Sarin and Tezing Sonam held a press conference at the DC office in Dharamshala on November 2, 3023 and announced that the 12th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival will take place at the Tibetan Children’s Village (TCV), Upper Dharamshala, from 4 to 7 November 2023.
They sai that ‘we are ready to embark on the cinematic four-day journey of the Dharamshala International Film Festival. DIFF is open to film enthusiasts from all over the world, the local community, and the general public. Access to the 92 feature films, documentaries, and short films, will require a delegate pass. However, all attendees have full access to other events, including panel discussions, question and answer sessions with directors, master classes given from film veterans, and a variety of stalls and pop-up shops organised by local businesses. Attendees can indulge their passion for cinema and learn from filmmakers such as Pa. Ranjith and Guneet Monga Kapoor.'
Indian Programming Highlights include Dominic Sangma’s Garo-language feature film Rapture, Shahrukhkhan Chavda’s Gujarati feature Which Colour?, and Achal Mishra’s Ri.
International Programming Highlights include: South Asian premiere of The Buriti Flower by João Salaviza and Renée Nader Messora (Cannes Un Certain Regard Ensemble Prize 2023), C.J. "Fiery" Obasi’s Mami Wata (Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize), Sepideh Farsi’s animation feature, The Siren (France), Aki Kaurismäki’s Fallen Leaves (Finland), and the documentaries I am Sirat (Deepa Mehta and Sirat Taneja, Canada), My Imaginary Country (Patricio Guzman, Chile) and Innocence (Guy Davidi, Israel).
Films will also be shown in inflatable mobile digital cinemas called “Picture Time”. People wishing to see films at DIFF 2023 can purchase passes at two tickets counters: the TCV Basketball Court and McLeodganj Square. DIFF is organised by White Crane Films and White Crane Arts and Media Trust.
Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) was founded by filmmakers and artists Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam in 2012 with the aim of creating a non-partisan public space where Dharamshala’s diverse population could come together, drawn by the common language of cinema. Their hope was to establish a world-class film festival that would expose local audiences to meaningful independent cinema, promote and encourage regional filmmaking talent, and provide a forum where filmmakers and film-lovers from India and around the world could interact in an informal and intimate way.
