Kashmir Impulse Desk
Srinagar, Sep 10
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday called for the Union Territory to develop from a popular filming location into a centre for filmmaking, storytelling and talent development.
Addressing the closing ceremony of the first International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir at the SKICC in Srinagar, Omar said the four-day event had demonstrated the potential for a sustained platform for cinema in the region.
The festival brought filmmakers and audiences together and created opportunities for young people to interact with established professionals, he said.
Omar said more than 120 films from over 30 countries had participated and argued that the festival’s long-term value would lie less in the number of screenings than in the professional relationships and opportunities it created.
He highlighted the return of films associated with Kashmir to the shores of Dal Lake through the festival’s screenings, but cautioned that nostalgia alone could not build a sustainable film industry.
J&K, he said, needed to become a place where stories were developed, talent discovered and films conceived and produced.
The region’s cities, villages, languages, literature, music, crafts, history and everyday life offered a much wider pool of material than its landscapes alone, Omar said.
He called for investment in young people and said the festival should evolve beyond a four-day annual event into a year-round platform for screenings, training, learning and collaboration.
The chief minister said the film sector could generate employment and business for artists, craftspeople, local service providers and other professionals.
He said productions coming to J&K should leave behind skills, jobs and stronger local capabilities rather than only images of the region.
Omar urged young filmmakers to tell stories rooted in their own communities and encouraged visiting filmmakers and artists to return to J&K to shoot, write, teach and collaborate.
He said the festival’s success should ultimately be judged by the careers it helped launch, collaborations it enabled and stories from J&K that reached audiences in India and abroad.
The first IFFJK concluded after four days of screenings and industry events in Srinagar.
