The 10th Edition of International Film Festival of Shimla will be held from 16th to 18th August, 2024 in the historic Gaiety Theater, Shimla. The festival is being organized by Himalayan Velocity in collaboration with the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Govt of India, Department of Language & Culture (LAC) Government of Himachal Pradesh has gained immense popularity in the past years.
Festival Director Pushp Raj Thakur said that this year Mrs Tendulkar will be the inaugural film of the IFFS. The lead role in Marathi film Mrs Tendulkar is performed by acclaimed Indian actress Seema Biswas, a National Award winning acctress will herself be present in the inaugural ceremony and will interact with the audience.
An NSD alumnus, she gained prominence after playing the role of Phoolan Devi in Shekhar Kapur’s film Bandit Queen (1994), for which she won the National Award for Best Actress. She is also honored with Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 2000 and Best Actress Genie Award in 2006 for her role as Shakuntala in Deepa Mehta’s Water (2005).
The Festival Director informed that most of the senior citizens are facing negligence of their love ones at home. Mrs. Tendulkar is a retired widow, living alone in a middle-class neighborhood in Suburban Mumbai. She has everything except the time and attention of her grown sons, neighbors and colleagues. In a world where loneliness has become an epidemic, Mrs. Tendulkar is about to give up on life when help comes knocking in an unexpected form. This is the story of a retired lonely woman and how she finds a new family beyond class, beyond blood ties and beyond expectations.
This year 27 countries and 20 states are participating in this prestigious cinematic event that promises to celebrate the art of storytelling through the lens of diverse cultures and perspectives. In the International category filmmakers from France, Iran, Sri Lanka, Uruguay, Germany, Nepal, Greece, United States, Portugal, Sweden, Bangladesh, Switzerland, Malaysia, Tunisia, Africa, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, Ukraine, Czech Republic, Korea, Canada, United Kingdom, Bulgaria and China are participating. While twenty states are participating from India viz., Telangana, Delhi, Assam, Kerala, Maharashtra, Kolkata, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, Rajasthan Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Odhisha, Meghalya, Haryana, Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Chattisgarh, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
This festival will feature competitions in International, National and State Category. There will also be specially curated sessions focusing on issues, themes, countries and the works of filmmakers. The program will also include screening of films, Seminar /Workshop Sessions with experts from Film Institutes, film critic and film industry’s 60 Independent directors whose films will be screened in the festival will also grace the three day long festival.
IFFS aims to promote a vibrant Documentary, Short Film, Feature Films, Animation Films & Music Videos and web series movement. IFFS has been successfully organized since 2015 with the first edition in 2015.
