Dharamshala International Film Festival Announces the 4th Edition of the DIFF Film Fellows Programme

DIFF has just announced the 2017 edition of the DIFF Film Fellows Programme, after three successful past editions. DIFF Film Fellows is an initiative to nurture, inspire and encourage young filmmakers from the Indian Himalayan regions. The festival directors are Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam.

At DIFF 2016, a jury of eminent film personalities chose five fellows out of thirty applicants through a rigorous selection process. The winners were Tourangbam Andy from Imphal, Vishal Langthasa from Haflong Assam, Bendang Walling from Nagaland, Abhijeet Phartiyal from Uttarakhand and Mehak Jamal from Srinagar. Established filmmakers like Anupama Srinivasan and Umesh Kulkarni mentored them during their time at DIFF.

As part of the programme for 2017, five filmmakers will again be selected to attend DIFF 2017 and participate in its various events, including screenings of the best contemporary independent cinema, master classes and workshops held by visiting filmmakers and industry professionals. The selected participants will also get the opportunity to engage in special one-on-one mentorship sessions with visiting filmmakers. The programme will cover travel arrangements, food and lodging for the selected participants for the duration of the fellowship programme.

The jury for the DIFF Film Fellows Programme 2017 are:

Feature Filmmaker - Shubhashish Bhutiani

Bina Paul - Film Editor and Artistic Director of the International Film Festival of Kerala

Tibetan-American documentary filmmaker - Tenzin Tsetan Choklay

DIFF Film Fellows Programme is open to anyone from the following regions:

Jammu & Kashmir

Himachal Pradesh

Uttarakhand

Sikkim

Arunachal Pradesh

Meghalaya

Nagaland

Manipur

Mizoram

Tripura

Hill regions of West Bengal and Assam

The deadline for applying to the programme is 31 August 2017. The results will be announced mid-September 2017.

For details of the application process, please go to http://diff.co.in/diff-film-fellows/

Mehak Jamal, DIFF Film Fellow 2016 said, "Take five people from the mountains and put them in their natural habitat, and things are bound to get interesting. If you love a day at the movies, then there is no better place than DIFF for you. Each film is like an Easter egg and here all of us are hunting for our own. The Film Fellows Programme started a journey for me that has been all too serendipitous and in all the right ways."

Tribeny Rai, DIFF Film Fellow 2015 said, "This platform not only encourages us to embrace cinema but also gives us the confidence to pursue our careers in filmmaking."