Shimla Film Festival Opens with 96 Films from 32 Countries

The 12th International Film Festival of Shimla (IFFS) opened on Friday at the historic Gaiety Heritage Cultural Complex, bringing together 96 films from 32 countries and 15 Indian states for a three-day run.

The programme spans feature films, short films, documentaries, animation, music videos and AI-generated films. Filmmakers from Iran, Portugal, Canada, Mexico, Nepal, the United States, South Korea, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Armenia, France, Rwanda, Uganda and Spain are participating.

The festival is organised under the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting through the National Film Development Corporation (NFDC), along with the Department of Language and Culture, Government of Himachal Pradesh, and Himalayan Velocity.

Festival organiser Devkanya Thakur said the event has followed a three-day format each year and that filmmakers from across the country are interacting with audiences. Screenings have been taken beyond the main venue: selected films are being shown at Model Central Jail Kanda and Model Central Jail Nahan for inmates, and a venue has been set up at RKMV College for students.

Thakur said screens have been installed at the two jails for the past seven years, this being the eighth season, and that the college venue was added this year to reach young people.

Himachal Pradesh is represented in the line-up, including '10F', which deals with climate change in Kinnaur, and 'Chuppi'. The festival is also screening the National Award-winning 'The Shape of Momo', along with 'Dholi' from Uttarakhand and 'Kakori'.

According to Thakur, such festivals give audiences access to films that often travel through festival circuits before reaching mainstream or social media platforms. She said the event helps filmmakers in their professional grooming and shows young viewers that such cinema can be made. On building a film culture in the state, she said monetary benefits are not the only measure and that a culture is gradually developing in Himachal Pradesh.

AI-generated films feature in this year's edition, with workshops on the technology's use in filmmaking. Thakur said a film made through a project at FTII Pune is part of the selection, Manu Dixit has come from Mumbai to conduct AI workshops, and the festival teaser was made by a team of filmmakers from Iran, while the cuckoo emblem uses AI and VFX.

Filmmaker Manu Bisht, attending for the fifth time, said he has received four Best Film awards at the festival. He has brought a 13-minute short film, produced by him and directed by Rajesh Bhatia and Bharat Arora, made entirely using AI, to be screened tomorrow after 3 pm. Bisht said AI can reduce the time and money needed to make films, but added that more effort is needed to draw local students and young cinema lovers, noting that media colleges exist but the students who watch films are missing and most attendees are tourists. He also valued the presence of filmmakers from Bangladesh, Nepal, Tamil Nadu and Sikkim, and said a long conversation with a filmmaker from Kashmir taught him things he would not have learnt sitting in Bombay.

Actor and filmmaker Gul Riyaz from Jammu and Kashmir is showcasing his short film 'The House That Still Cries', which deals with migration. He described a story in which a postman arrives to deliver letters to a house after 35 years and finds it in ruins, discovering through the letters who lived there and that their souls remain, with the house still waiting for them. Riyaz said festivals allow independent filmmakers to meet other creators and learn about different cultures and styles of filmmaking, and serve as a platform for emerging and independent filmmakers. On AI, he said the technology can help independent filmmakers with limited budgets to depict large-scale elements at lower cost, but that a film should be made naturally and he does not believe in relying entirely on it.

Actor Manoj Joshi said such events give young filmmakers and writers a chance to meet people from the industry, and described film and art as part of Indian life. He said short films are widely watched today, with platforms opening up for them, and that many sensitive films on social and environmental issues have travelled to international festivals. On AI, he said the technology should remain a tool and not replace human creativity. Joshi also said festivals should be held in smaller cities so local audiences and young creators can interact with industry professionals, and used his interaction with young audiences to speak about drug abuse, urging them to stay away from drugs.

The festival is also hosting interactive sessions and masterclasses with writer-director Amit Rai, actor Sharib Hashmi and other filmmakers and artists. The 12th edition will conclude on September 27 with the closing and award ceremony.