Srinagar, September 28: A delegation of members of the Kashmir film sector on Monday met former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister and J&K Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti at the party headquarters in Srinagar and raised concerns over what they described as lack of support and non-cooperation from the present administration.
The delegation was led by Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan, Founder and Director of the Kashmir World Film Festival (KWFF), and included Zameer Ashai, G. M. Wani, Hussein Khan, Hassan Javaid, Aarif Zeeshan and others.
The delegation apprised Mehbooba Mufti of what it termed serious challenges being faced by the local film fraternity. It expressed concern that Kashmiri artists and film professionals had been ignored in the recently held government-sponsored film festival.
According to the delegation, no film professional from Kashmir was involved in the planning and execution of the festival despite the expenditure of public funds.
The delegation submitted a detailed memorandum seeking intervention on issues concerning the local film industry.
Among the points raised was the claim that the recently held government-sponsored festival was not the first international film festival in Jammu & Kashmir.
The delegation said the Kashmir World Film Festival, conceived and executed by Mushtaaque Ali Ahmad Khan in 2017, was the first international film festival of its scale in Kashmir. It noted that the festival was organised at a time when no cinema hall was functional in the Valley.
The delegation expressed concern that instead of strengthening KWFF, which it described as a nine-year-old private platform built through personal commitment and investment, the Government had spent public funds on a parallel festival without engaging local talent.
The memorandum sought clarification on the expenditure incurred on the recent government festival and urged the Government to support and institutionalise existing initiatives such as KWFF.
It also called for future film festivals in Jammu & Kashmir to be entrusted to professionals, with local talent placed at the centre of their planning and execution.
After hearing the delegation’s grievances, Mehbooba Mufti assured the members of her support and said she would raise their concerns at appropriate platforms.
