DD Correspondent
September: A delegation of leading members of the Kashmir Film Industry today called on the former Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir and President, J&K Peoples Democratic Party, Mehbooba Mufti , at the party headquarters in Srinagar. The delegation was led by Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, Founder & Director, Kashmir World Film Festival (KWFF). The members included Zameer Ashai, G. M. Wani, Hussein Khan, Hassan Javaid, Aarif Zeeshan and others. The delegation apprised the former Chief Minister of the serious challenges being faced by the local film fraternity, including lack of support and non-cooperation from the present administration.
The members expressed deep anguish that Kashmiri artists and professionals were completely ignored in the recently held government-sponsored film festival. It was pointed out that not a single film professional from Kashmir was involved in its planning and execution, despite huge expenditure of public money. The delegation sought her intervention to ensure justice for the local film community and submitted a detailed memorandum. The key points of the memorandum are as under:
Government Claim is Factually Incorrect: The recently held government festival is not the first-ever international film festival of J&K. 2. KWFF is the Actual First (2017): The first international film festival of this scale in Kashmir was the Kashmir World Film Festival (KWFF), conceived and executed by Mr. Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan in 2017, at a time when no cinema hall was functional in the Valley. 3. Concern: Instead of strengthening a 9-year-old credible private platform built through personal sacrifice and commitment, the government spent public exchequer on a parallel festival without relevant experience and without engaging local talent.
Prayer: A clarification be sought on the expenditure incurred on the recent government festival;b) The Government should support and institutionalize existing credible initiatives like KWFF; andc) Future film festivals in J&K be entrusted to professionals with local talent at the centre. After listening to the grievances of the delegation in detail, Mehbooba Mufti assured them of her unconditional support and committed to raising their genuine concerns at all appropriate platforms.
