Srinagar: Filmmaker Kapil Mattoo’s Tasrufdar won Best Film at the Jammu & Kashmir Select category at the closing ceremony of the first International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK) on Thursday.
The film, which chronicles the life of a middle-aged Kashmiri Muslim man who encounters a paranormal figure — the spirit of his late father’s childhood friend, a Kashmiri Pandit, also took home a cash prize of Rs 10 lakh. It is one of the three awards J&K won.
Emotional after the win, Mattoo said that he was “numb” when his name was called.
“I feel very great about it and I’m humbled,” he told ThePrint.
He also said that as the award went to a local film made by Kashmiris, acted by Kashmiris in Kashmir and in the Kashmiri language, it opens doors for budding filmmakers.
“They can think, they can dream. It brings forth the possibility of the relationship between the filmmakers, storytellers and the government and the administration because they’re willing to now nurture, and look into the field of cinema seriously,” he added.
Apart from Tasrufdar, Baba Tasaduq Hussain’s documentary Naqsh-e-Daur, which explores Kashmir’s traditional Naqashi art, won the Best Cinematography award.
The international awards were led by Iranian filmmaker Rasoul Sadr Ameli’s Whisper My Name, which won Best Film. Its lead actor Amin Hayayee was named Best Actor (Male), while actor Tanya Maniktala won Best Actor (Female) for Arifa. Husnora Rozmatova won Best Director for The Song Sustoxin, which also received the Best Debut Film award.
The remaining honours included Best Sound Design for Victor Brasie for the Lebanese film Dead Dog, directed by Sarah Francis. Best Editing went to Belgian filmmaker Maja Ajmia Zellama for Têtes Brûlées.
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Rang-e-cinema
Organised by the Department of Information and Public Relations of Jammu & Kashmir, the four-day festival ‘Rang-e-cinma’ was held from 7 to 10 September across Srinagar, Jammu and Gulmarg. It brought together filmmakers, actors, technicians, artists, industry professionals and cinema enthusiasts from India and abroad, in what organisers described as an attempt to establish Jammu and Kashmir as a vibrant destination for cinema and filmmaking.
The festival received more than 1,100 film submissions from over 80 countries, of which 135 films from around 40 countries were selected for screening. It featured films across genres and formats, alongside masterclasses, panel discussions and conversations with filmmakers and other industry professionals. Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, Jammu & Kashmir National Conference President Farooq Abdullah and other dignitaries attended the closing ceremony.
Reflecting on the festival, Omar Abdullah said it had evolved “from an idea into a purpose”.
“Tonight, as the first edition of the festival comes to a close, we can say that the idea has found both an audience and a purpose,” he said.
Abdullah added that in a decade, the true measure of the festival’s success will be the careers it helps launch, the opportunities and collaborations it facilitates, and the stories from Jammu and Kashmir that eventually find audiences across India and the world.
Addressing the visiting filmmakers, actors and delegates, Abdullah invited them to return to J&K, highlighting the government’s desire to build on the festival and strengthen the region’s engagement with the film industry.
“Come back to shoot, write, teach, collaborate and discover more of Jammu and Kashmir,” he said.
The ceremony was also a celebration of music and local culture. Singer Usha Uthup performed some of her best-known tracks, including Darling from 2011’s 7 Khoon Maaf and Ramba Ho (Armaan, 1981), alongside the Kashmiri song Hukus Bukus and the Dogri song O Kali Bhaga Wala.
(Edited by Stela Dey)