The first edition of ‘The Himalayan Film Festival-2021’ (THFF) will begin from 24 to 28 September in Leh. The film festival is being organised by the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Government of India.  Minister of Information and Broadcasting Sports & Youth Affairs, Govt. of India, Anurag Singh Thakur will be the chief guest.

The film festival is being hosted in collaboration with the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, Leh. The five-day film festival is a part of the celebration of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ commemorating 75 years of India’s Independence. Keeping in view The PM’s call for ‘Jan Bhagidhari’, the film festival will have active participation from the local filmmakers and showcase talent from across the 12 Himalayan states and UTs. 

Popular films from the Himalayan states viz Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh besides Indian Panorama selected films will be showcased during the festival. 

Masterclasses on editing by Priya Krishnaswamy, wildlife by S. Nallamuthu, direction by Nila Madhab Panda and in acting by Phonsok Ladakhi aiming to impart necessary skills and networking opportunities to budding as well as established filmmakers will also be organized during the festival.

Similarly, in -conversation sessions with renowned film personalities including Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra, Anupama Chopra, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, and Kirti Kulhari will also be organised. Additionally, there will also be a competition section for short films and documentaries to recognize talented filmmakers in the Himalayan region of India, connect to the sparsely located film-making community of the region and encourage fresh talent. Also, Jury meets with Manju Borah, Sesino Yoshu, Raja Shabir Khan, and G.P Vijay Kumar will be organised followed by Music Fest. 

Shershah movie will be screened at the opening ceremony and The Shepherdess of Glacier movie will be screened at the closing ceremony.