Sriram Raghavan has joined the five-member jury for the inaugural International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir (IFFJK), which opens in Srinagar on Sept. 7. Filmmakers Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Ramesh Sippy have also been added to the festival’s lineup as special guests.
The jury comprises Raghavan, cinematographer and filmmaker Santosh Sivan, German filmmaker and curator Dorothee Wenner, Japanese documentary filmmaker and media entrepreneur Keiko Bang, and filmmaker and educator Himansu Sekhar Khatua. The five members will evaluate films in the festival’s competitive sections and decide the awards.
The addition of Chopra and Sippy is separate from the competitive jury. Chopra, who was born in Kashmir, is known for films including Mission Kashmir, 3 Idiots and PK. Sippy directed Sholay and is one of the prominent filmmakers of Hindi cinema’s post-1970s era.
The competitive programme features 13 films across three award-linked sections: International Competition, Best Debut and J&K Select.
The International Competition features seven films: Promised Sky, directed by Erige Sehiri; The Cost of Heaven (Gagne ton Ciel); Obraz (The Tower of Strength), directed by Nikola I. Vukcevic; Irkalla: Gilgamesh's Dream (Irkalla Hulm Jijiljamish), directed by Mohamed Jabarah Al-Daradji; Vizita, directed by Ardit Sadiku; Gavagai, directed by Ulrich Köhler; and Têtes Brûlées, directed by Maja Ajmia Zellama.
The Best Debut section features five films: The Writer's Inn, directed by Siddharth Kalkal; Me and the one I used to be (Yo y la que Fui), directed by Maria Constanza Niscovolos; Gülizar (Gulizar), directed by Belkıs Bayrak; Feminine Singular (Femenino Singular), directed by Dorian Shine; and Tungabhadra, directed by Sayantan Acharya.
The J&K Select section features Arifa, directed by Rohin Raveendran Nair.
The films are competing for a total prize purse of ₹96 lakh across nine award categories. Best Film carries ₹25 lakh, the festival’s largest individual prize. Best Director and Best Debut Film of a Director carry ₹15 lakh each, while Best Film – J&K Select carries ₹10 lakh.
Best Actor (Male) and Best Actor (Female) carry ₹8 lakh each. Best Cinematography, Best Sound Design and Best Editing carry ₹5 lakh each.
The festival’s awards framework covers filmmaking, direction, acting and technical craft, alongside its special recognition for debut filmmaking and cinema connected to Jammu & Kashmir.
Raghavan is also participating in the festival’s programme as a filmmaker and screenwriter. He is scheduled to lead The Trouble with Fairy-tale Endings, a masterclass on direction and screenplay writing, on Sept. 8. The programme also includes masterclasses and conversations with filmmakers and other industry professionals.
IFFJK runs from Sept. 7-10 and features 135 films from 41 countries, alongside screenings, masterclasses, panel discussions and industry sessions. The opening film is Sarah Francis’ Dead Dog, scheduled at INOX Srinagar on Sept. 7.
