The second edition of the Jammu Film Festival will be held over 2 days from September 3 in Jammu city. It will screen 54 projects from 15 countries including feature films, documentaries, and shorts.
Speaking about the festival, its director Rakesh Roshan Bhat explained, "We had opened the call for entries for the second edition in October last year and we got an overwhelming response. Owing to the success of the first edition there was a lot of excitement around the second edition. However, we had to postpone the festival which was scheduled earlier to be held in March to September this year because of the looming fear of Covid 19."
He added, "We received around 140 entries from 21 countries and our panel of judges has carefully curated screenings for the second edition which include the screening of 6 feature films, 39 shorts and 9 documentaries"
The panel of judges for the Jammu Film Festival includes prominent actor Lalit Parimoo, 'Geetiyan' fame director Raahul Sharma, Iranian filmmaker Alimohammad Eghbaldar, producer Kapil Mattoo and storyboard writer and critic Amit Singh. The panel is headed by Sangeet Natak awardee and well-known actor-director Mushtaq kak.
"We are presenting the best of world cinema to cinema lovers in Jammu. It is an excellent opportunity for the youth of J&K to learn and network," said Lalit Parimoo.
He continued, "We will continue to have a separate section for J&K where we will showcase work from local talent. We have tried to accommodate most of the local projects for screening" added Mushtaq Kak. Renowned actor and festival advisor Mir Sarwar expressed happiness over the participation of local youth in the festival
The festival will be held over 2 days and is likely to be attended by delegates across the country and abroad. Many side events including local folk performances, acting, and writing workshops are also planned. Bollywood presence is also expected.
"We are leaving no stone unturned to raise the bar with every edition and make Jammu film festival a name to reckon with", said Rohit Bhat, the festival co-director.
It is pertinent to mention that Jammu Film Festival received a lot of attention and appreciation in its first edition. It was perhaps the first big event after the abrogation of article 370 to be held in J&K.
Jammu film festival is being organized by Vomedh which is a very prominent cultural organization of J&K.
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