On Friday, September 24, the first edition of The Himalayan Film Festival 2021 (THFF) flags off in Leh as part of the ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’, commemorating 75 years of India’s Independence.  

The honored guests of the inaugural ceremony of the festival were Hon’ble Union Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Anurag Singh Thakur along with the Member of Parliament from Ladakh, Jamyang Tsering Namgyal. Indian film actor Sidharth Malhotra with the LG of Ladakh Shri R.K. Mathur and Indian film director Vidhu Vinod Chopra were also present at the inauguration today. 

There was a launch of a poster collage at the event, which was held by the chief guests and the other prominent guest for the picture at the event ceremony.

This five-day festival is in collaboration with the Directorate of Film Festivals under the Union I&B Ministry, and heads from 24th – 28th September 2021. According to the Administration of Union Territory of Ladakh, “Filmmakers from all the Himalayan states/UTs such as Ladakh, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim, Assam, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, and Nagaland are eligible to take part in the contest”.

The spirit of the festival lies in the view of our honorable PM’s call for ‘Jan Bhagidhari’, as per the administration of Ladakh, “the film festival will have active participation from the local filmmakers and showcase talent from across the 12 Himalayan states and UTs.”

Popular films from the Himalayan states viz Assam, Sikkim, Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Ladakh besides Indian Panorama selected films will be showcased during the festival.

Today Sidharth Malhotra uses his social media handle to express his gratitude by sharing a few video clips from his flight to Ladakh.  He expresses his happiness about the honour to attend the festival. He writes in his post a quote by William Shakespeare, “The earth has music for those who listen.”

This film festival will be known as the world’s highest-altitude festival as what makes this a one-of-a-kind event is that it is physical and not digital, despite the ongoing pandemic.