The 15th Dharamshala International Film Festival will take place October 29 through November 1 at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Upper Dharamshala, with an online component running November 2-9. The festival will open with Rima Das’ “Not a Hero,” an India-Singapore co-production that previously debuted at the Berlin Film Festival, where it received a Crystal Bear Special Mention in the Generation Kplus category, and later won best indie film at the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne.
Kirti Kulhari’s first feature film as a producer, “Kinaare,” will have its world premiere at the festival. Written and directed by brothers Akbar Quadri and Azam Quadri, the film follows Amina, a single woman living near Delhi who cares for her elderly parents. The narrative unfolds when her cousin unexpectedly returns after a 15-year absence, prompting Amina to confront unresolved family matters. The cast includes Kulhari, Rajeev Siddhartha, Alka Amin and Ravi Taneja, with cinematography by Arjun Sundaram and music by Mohan Kannan.
The festival lineup includes several other notable titles. “Not a Hero” centers on a boy sent from the city to his family’s village, where he forms unexpected connections. Additional selections include Don Palathara’s “The Uncertainty Principle,” a documentary titled “Cool Ladies Club” co-directed by Shilpi Gulati and 10 women from Mumbai’s suburbs, and “Shadowbox,” a family drama set in Kolkata. International films in the program include Eimi Imanishi’s Western Sahara-set “Nomad Shadow” and Rafael Kapelinski’s “Budapest Diaries.”
Among films from the initial lineup are Gurvinder Singh’s Punjab-set “Rehmat,” an India-France co-production that interweaves three contemporary stories, and Oscar-nominated documentarian Shaunak Sen’s 1990s Delhi-set short “Termite.” The program also features Cannes-winning “Sirāt” by Oliver Laxe and Thai filmmaker Sompot Chidgasornpongse’s “9 Temples to Heaven.” The festival will operate its fellowship program with mentorship from Bhutanese director Dechen Roder and Indian independent filmmakers Umesh Kulkarni and Dominic Sangma.
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