Srinagar, Nov 1 (UNI) A five-day Kashmir World Film Festival kick started on Wednesday in an attempt to revive the film culture in violence torn valley.

Minister for Public Works Naeem Akhtar inaugurated the second edition of the festival at Tagore Hall in the presence of eminent artistes and film personalities, including Govind Nihalani, Saeed Mirza, Anwar Jamal and Ashok Kaul.



The organizers of the festival said that around 30 films in different languages will be screened during the five- day event.

“The film like Citizen Kane (English), Angry Men (English), Bicycle Thieves (Italian), Life is Beautiful (Italian), The Queen of Silence (Polish), Seven Samurai (Japanese), Children of Heaven (Persian), Where are my shoes (Persian), Andaz (Hindi), Payas (Hindi), Reet (Dogri), Lzadol (Ladakhi), Mainz Raat (Kashmiri) and many others will be screened during the event,” Festival Director Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan told UNI.

Meanwhile, the Minister, while welcoming the initiative, said that such festival will provide an avenue to local youth to tell their stories at a larger level.



“We have a huge potential in Kashmir, but the only thing is that we don’t have avenues. Such festivals provide a platform for local youth to interact with masters in the field and learn a lot,” Mr Akhtar said.



He said that Kashmir has a rich history with potential for making films on numerous story ideas and called on the youth to explore the exciting world of cinema.



The Minister praised the organizers for also starting a five-day film workshop for the students that will be held alongside the festival. He said that the cinema is one thing which joins us all and youth will learn a lot in this field.

The first edition of the festival, a five-day event, was held in July this year that witnessed a huge response from the audience.

UNI ABS SB 1953