CM invites filmmakers to return, create, collaborate in region

Srinagar, Sep 10: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Thursday said that Jammu and Kashmir must move beyond being merely a beautiful filming location and become a place from where its own stories emerge, talent is discovered and films are conceived and created.

Addressing the closing ceremony of the first-ever International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) here, Chief Minister Omar said, “The four-day festival had brought filmmakers and audiences together, connected established professionals with young aspirants and created a platform for cinema from Jammu and Kashmir to engage with India and the world.”

“You came as our guests, I hope you leave as friends of Jammu and Kashmir and partners in what we are trying to build,” the Chief Minister said.

The Chief Minister said 120 films from more than 30 countries were screened during the festival, but its deeper value lay in the connections created between filmmakers, young talent and audiences. “A young writer meeting a director, an aspiring filmmaker learning from a professional or two people meeting here who may one day make a film together,” he said.

He congratulated those recognised during the festival and thanked the jury, filmmakers, delegates and members of the film fraternity who participated in the inaugural edition.

Recalling his remarks at the opening of the festival about Jammu and Kashmir’s long association with cinema, CM Omar said the past few evenings had witnessed something special as films that shaped Kashmir’s visual memory were screened again in the region. “Those films and others from that era have returned to Dal Lake,” he said.

He said films including Junglee, Arzoo, Kashmir Ki Kali and Kabhi Kabhie had been screened against the very landscapes that helped make them memorable. “For decades, Kashmir travelled to audiences through a cinema screen. This week, in a sense, the screen came back to Kashmir,” Omar said.

Omar said IFFJK should grow beyond a four-day annual event into a continuous platform for screening, learning, training and collaboration throughout the year. “Government can provide a platform and an enabling environment, but a vibrant film culture must be sustained by the creative community itself,” he said.

He said the future of the festival should be shaped by what organizers had learned from participants and audiences during its inaugural edition.

Highlighting the wider economic potential of cinema, the Chief Minister said filmmaking could support professionals, local services, artists, jobs and businesses. “Films coming to Jammu and Kashmir should therefore leave behind not only valuable images but also skills, employment and stronger local capabilities,” he said.

He said the benefits of filmmaking should extend beyond the images captured on screen and contribute to building stronger local skills and professional capabilities.

Addressing visiting filmmakers, actors and delegates, CM Omar extended an invitation to return to Jammu and Kashmir. “Come back to shoot, write, teach, collaborate and discover more of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.

He said the mountains and lakes may bring filmmakers to the region once, but the experience of working in Jammu and Kashmir, along with its stories and people, should encourage them to return.

Addressing young filmmakers and storytellers, CM Omar urged them to learn the craft, experiment and begin telling stories from their neighbourhoods, villages, families and generations. “Some of cinema’s most powerful voices are intimate and local. What matters is that the voice be authentic and the craft remain strong,” he said.

He said the participation of young people in the festival had demonstrated the potential for a new generation of filmmakers from Jammu and Kashmir.