SRINAGAR: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah today called for transforming Jammu and Kashmir from merely a sought-after filming location into a vibrant centre for storytelling, talent development and film-making, as he addressed the concluding ceremony of the four-day International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) at the SKICC back lawns along the shores of Dal Lake.
Union Minister of State for Information & Broadcasting Dr L. Murugan, former Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah, J&K’s Council of Ministers, Advisor to the Chief Minister, several J&K legislators, Chief Secretary J&K, Secretary, Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, and senior officers of civil and police administration were present on the occasion.
Addressing filmmakers, artists, members of the jury, delegates from India and abroad, students, young filmmakers and cinema enthusiasts, the Chief Minister said the first edition of IFFJK had demonstrated that the idea of creating a meaningful new platform for cinema in Jammu and Kashmir had found both an audience and a purpose.
“Four days ago, we gathered here to raise the curtain on the first International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir. At that time, the festival was an idea being tested—an invitation, an experiment and, above all, a hope that Jammu and Kashmir could create a meaningful new platform for cinema. Tonight, as this first edition comes to a close, we can say that the idea has found both an audience and a purpose,” he said.
The Chief Minister noted that over the four days, IFFJK had brought filmmakers and audiences together, connected established professionals with young aspirants and created a space where cinema from Jammu and Kashmir could engage with India and the world.
He said the participation of young people from J&K was particularly encouraging, with conversations during the festival extending across storytelling, filmmaking craft, technology and collaboration.
Referring to the participation of 120 films from over 30 countries, Omar Abdullah said the scale of the festival was important, but its deeper value lay in the connections created among people from different backgrounds and stages of their cinematic journeys.
“A young writer meeting a director, an aspiring filmmaker learning from a professional, or two people meeting here who may one day make a film together”—these encounters, he said, represented the enduring value of a festival such as IFFJK.
Congratulating those recognised and honoured during the festival, the Chief Minister expressed gratitude to the jury, filmmakers, delegates, film fraternity, organisers, volunteers and audiences whose participation gave the inaugural edition its energy and meaning.
He also highlighted the emotional significance of bringing iconic films associated with Kashmir back to the shores of Dal Lake during the festival.
Recalling his remarks at the opening ceremony about Jammu and Kashmir’s long association with cinema, he said films such as Junglee, Arzoo, Kashmir Ki Kali and Kabhi Kabhie had been screened against the very landscape that had helped make them memorable.
“For decades, Kashmir travelled to audiences through the cinema screen; this week, in a sense, the screen came back to Kashmir,” the Chief Minister said, describing the floating cinema as one of the defining memories of the first IFFJK.
However, he emphasised that nostalgia alone could not define the future of cinema in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Our ambition must go beyond being a beautiful filming location: Jammu and Kashmir must increasingly become a place from which stories emerge, talent is discovered, and films are conceived and created,” he said.
The Chief Minister stressed that J&K had far more to offer cinema than its landscapes, pointing to the region’s cities, towns and villages, languages, literature, music, crafts, history and everyday lives as a rich source of stories.
“Our landscapes may bring filmmakers here, but our stories, our people and a professional filmmaking environment can bring them back,” he said.
Calling for a two-way relationship with the wider film world, Omar Abdullah said Jammu and Kashmir should continue to welcome filmmakers from India and across the world while simultaneously creating opportunities for local talent to find audiences, collaborators and opportunities beyond the region.
He placed particular emphasis on investing in young people and said the long-term success of IFFJK should not be judged merely by the number of films screened or personalities who participated.
“Ten years from now, IFFJK’s success will be measured not only by the films screened or the personalities who joined us, but by the careers that began here, the opportunities and collaborations it created, and the stories from Jammu and Kashmir that reached audiences across India and the world,” he said.
The Chief Minister said the presence of filmmakers and artists had given the first edition of IFFJK its stature, adding that the most meaningful tribute to their contribution would be to build on the inspiration and opportunities created during the festival and help a new generation from J&K find its place in cinema.
He called for IFFJK to evolve beyond a four-day annual event into a continuing platform for screenings, learning, training and collaboration throughout the year.
He said the future shape of the festival should be informed by the experiences and feedback of participants and audiences.
“Government can provide the platform and an enabling environment, but a vibrant film culture must be sustained by the creative community itself,” Omar Abdullah said.
Highlighting the wider economic potential of the film sector, the Chief Minister said cinema could support professionals, local services, artists, craftspeople and businesses.
He emphasised that filmmaking activity in Jammu and Kashmir should create a lasting local impact in the form of developing skills, generating employment and stronger capabilities.
“Films coming to Jammu and Kashmir should therefore leave behind not only memorable images, but also skills, employment and stronger local capabilities. Our mountains and lakes may bring filmmakers here once; the experience of working here must bring them back again,” he said.
Extending an invitation to visiting filmmakers, actors and delegates, the Chief Minister urged them to return to Jammu and Kashmir to shoot, write, teach, collaborate and discover more of the region.
Addressing young filmmakers and storytellers, he encouraged them to learn the craft, experiment and begin telling stories rooted in their own surroundings.
“Tell the stories of your neighbourhoods, villages, families and generation. Some of cinema’s most powerful stories are intimate and local; what matters is that the voice is authentic and the craft is strong,” he said.
Concluding his address at the shores of Dal Lake, the Chief Minister said the setting was particularly appropriate for the conclusion of the first IFFJK.
He drew a parallel between Dal Lake’s reflection of the mountains, sky and changing seasons and cinema’s longstanding role in reflecting Kashmir to the world.
“Perhaps the opportunity before us now is for Jammu and Kashmir increasingly to reflect itself through cinema—to tell its own stories, in its own voices and with confidence, and to share them with audiences across India and the world,” he said.
Omar Abdullah said the conclusion of the first edition should not mark the end of the idea that brought the festival together.
“If, years from now, filmmakers from Jammu and Kashmir are standing at festivals across the world with stories that first found encouragement or opportunity here, we may look back on these four days as the moment when something enduring began beside Dal Lake,” he said.
The Chief Minister thanked everyone associated with the inaugural edition of IFFJK and expressed hope of welcoming the filmmakers, artists, delegates and cinema fraternity back to Jammu and Kashmir.
