23-09-2021: Information and Broadcasting Minister, Anurag Thakur will inaugurate a five-day Himalayan Film Festival at Leh, Ladakh on the 24th of this month. The inaugural of this first festival will witness the presence of makers and cast of the super hit movie Shershah, including Director Vishnuvardhan and the lead actor Siddharth Malhotra.
Shershah is also the opening feature film of the festival. The festival will comprise various segments to enthrall the audience and film buffs. They include the screening of popular films. workshops, masterclasses, in-conversation sessions, and competition sections. It will also cater to the various palette of the audience with a food festival, cultural shows, and music fests. The Himalayan region attracts filmmakers from all around the globe due to its unique scenic endowment.
The unique geography of the region is widely documented along with its indigenous people, traditional skills, and occupations. In this context, the film festival presents an opportunity for local filmmakers to narrate their stories to a wider audience. In the last two decades, the independent film industry in the region has taken shape with filmmakers producing local-language films.
The same period has also seen rapid electrification in the region which is the prerequisite for the development of the audio-visual sector. The Himalayan Film festival also envisions institutionalizing a Himalayan film fraternity which will have productive repercussions for filmmaking in the Himalayan parts of India.