Varun Grover's 'All India Rank' to open DIFF, Manoj Bajpayee-starrer 'Joram' to close festival

Dharamshala: Writer-lyricist Varun Grover's feature directorial debut "All India Rank" is the opening film of the 12th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF), the organisers announced on Monday.

"Joram", directed by Devashish Makhija and starring Manoj Bajpayee, will close the gala.

The on-ground edition of the festival, to be held from November 4 to 7, moves to the Tibetan Children's Village in Upper Dharamshala, which allows it to expand to a total of four screens.

Under the fiction category of the Indian highlights will be the world premiere of "Bottle Radha", produced by Pa. Ranjith and directed by Dhinakaran Sivalingam, Jayant Digambar Somalkar's "A Match (Sthal)", "Family" by Don Palathara, Siddharth Chauhan's "Amar Colony", "Tora's Husband" by Rima Das, and the Aamir Bashir-directed "The Winter Within".

The non-fiction Indian highlights include titles such as Anand Patwardhan's "The World Is Family (Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam)", "Against The Tide" by Sarvnik Kaur, "Dr. B. R. Ambedkar: Now & Then" and "While We Watched (Namaskar Main Ravish Kumar)" by Vinay Shukla.

Festival directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam said they are thrilled with the final selection for the upcoming edition of the gala and promised audiences that they are in for a cinematic feast.

"This year, for the first time since we started the festival in 2012, we decided to step back from actively doing the programming ourselves. We were very fortunate that Bina Paul, an old friend and the former artistic director of the International Film Festival of Kerala, was happy to come on board as the director of programming.

"Bina and her team, along with ourselves, made the final selections after in-depth viewings and many discussions. The criteria, as always, is to showcase the best of independent cinema from India and around the world," they said in a joint statement.

According to a press release, celebrated Tamil filmmaker Pa. Ranjith and Academy Award-winning producer Guneet Monga will headline discussions and masterclasses offering a unique opportunity for attendees to gain insights into the world of cinema.

In memory of Navroze Contractor, cinematographer and a key figure in Indian cinema, DIFF 2023 will hold a special screening of one of the many films he shot – Deepa Dhanraj's "Something Like a War".

Govindan Aravindan's renowned Malayalam film "Kummatty", meticulously restored by The Film Foundation's World Cinema Project, Film Heritage Foundation, and Cineteca di Bologna, will also be screened at the festival.

International films such as "Paradise" by Prasanna Vithanage, "Perfect Days" by Wim Wenders, "The Blue Caftan" by Maryam Touzani and Hong Sang-soo's "In Our Day", among others, will also be screened.

A digital edition of DIFF 2023 will run from November 8 to 14 for audiences unable to attend the physical event.