From celebration to a sustainable Film ecosystem in JK

Mohammad Hanief

m.hanief@gmail.com

The conclusion of the first International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir should not be viewed as the end of an event, but as the beginning of a much larger cinematic journey. The festival has demonstrated that Jammu and Kashmir can host an international cultural gathering and provide a platform where filmmakers, artists, critics, audiences and industry professionals can interact. More importantly, the discussions surrounding the festival have brought into focus a question that will determine the future of cinema in the region: how can the momentum created by the festival be converted into a permanent and sustainable film ecosystem?

The immediate post-festival scenario is encouraging, but it also underlines the work that remains to be done. Participants and filmmakers have called for greater involvement of local people, regular film screenings, systematic training and better supporting infrastructure. These demands are significant because a successful film industry cannot be created through festivals alone. Festivals can generate visibility and cultural excitement, but a sustainable industry requires institutions, skilled professionals, production facilities, financing, distribution networks and opportunities for continuous creative work.

Jammu and Kashmir already possesses an important policy foundation. The J&K Film Policy 2024 provides for a Single Window Cell, financial assistance, facilitation of film permissions and the development of nationally competitive filmmaking infrastructure. The challenge now is to ensure that these provisions are implemented efficiently and consistently so that filmmakers experience Jammu and Kashmir not merely as a beautiful location but as a complete and professional production destination.

The region also needs to invest seriously in its own human resources. The future of J&K cinema cannot depend exclusively on filmmakers arriving from outside. Young people from Kashmir and Jammu must be given opportunities to learn screenwriting, direction, cinematography, editing, sound design, production management, acting, animation and other technical skills. Film schools, short-term training programmes, workshops and mentorship initiatives involving experienced national and international professionals could create a new generation of local filmmakers.

Equally important is the creation of permanent infrastructure. Post-production studios, sound facilities, equipment banks, editing laboratories, animation and visual-effects facilities and professional production services would allow a greater share of film expenditure to remain within Jammu and Kashmir. At present, the region's natural landscapes provide a powerful attraction, but modern productions require much more than locations. They require technical reliability, trained manpower, accommodation, transport, equipment and efficient administrative coordination. Developing these capabilities locally would increase both the economic and employment benefits of filmmaking.

The festival has also created an opportunity to strengthen the relationship between cinema and tourism. Jammu and Kashmir possesses landscapes and cultural traditions that are already globally recognisable, but cinema can introduce audiences to lesser-known destinations, communities and cultural experiences. Films can encourage visitors to explore places beyond conventional tourist circuits and can present the region through stories rather than promotional imagery alone. In this sense, a thriving film industry can become an important component of the region's wider tourism economy.

At the same time, local storytelling must remain at the centre of this transformation. Jammu and Kashmir should not become merely a backdrop for stories written elsewhere. Its writers, directors, actors, musicians, technicians and storytellers should have the confidence and institutional support to tell stories emerging from their own experiences. The region's diverse cultural traditions, languages, history, social changes and contemporary aspirations provide an extraordinary reservoir of narratives.

The next step should therefore be to create continuity after the festival. Regular film screenings, travelling cinema programmes, film appreciation clubs in educational institutions, annual workshops, script-development laboratories and local short-film competitions could ensure that cinematic activity continues throughout the year. Such initiatives would help develop audiences as well as filmmakers. A culture of cinema cannot be built by waiting for major productions; it must grow through regular engagement with films and filmmaking.

The government and private sector will have to work together to realise this potential. Public investment can create basic infrastructure and institutional support, while private investment can bring production expertise, technology and commercial opportunities. Partnerships with national film institutions, production houses, streaming platforms and international festivals could further expose local talent to professional networks and global markets.

The success of the first IFFJK should therefore be judged not simply by the number of films screened or countries represented, but by what happens after the lights of the festival are switched off. If the event leads to more local productions, better training, new employment, stronger infrastructure, increased tourism and greater international collaboration, it will have achieved something much more important than a successful cultural event.

Jammu and Kashmir now stands at an important moment in its cinematic journey. Its historic association with the silver screen has been revived, but the future should not be built on nostalgia alone. The region has the opportunity to move from being a location where others come to shoot towards becoming a place where ideas are developed, scripts are written, films are produced, talent is trained and stories travel from Jammu and Kashmir to audiences across India and the world.

The way forward is therefore clear: sustained implementation of the Film Policy, efficient single-window mechanisms, investment in infrastructure, development of local talent, continuous film education, stronger opportunities for women and young creators, encouragement of local-language cinema, greater private-sector participation and regular engagement between international filmmakers and the region's creative community.

The first International Film Festival has opened the door. The real task now is to keep that door open and build a lasting pathway through it. If the momentum generated by the festival is converted into sustained institutional support and local creative participation, Jammu and Kashmir can establish itself not merely as a picturesque destination for filmmakers, but as a genuine centre of cinematic creativity, cultural exchange and creative enterprise.

The future of cinema in Jammu and Kashmir should ultimately be defined by a simple transformation: from being the place where filmmakers come to capture the landscape to becoming the place where filmmakers come to discover its people, understand its culture and tell its stories.

The author is a senior analyst and environmentalist. Feedback can be sent to m.hanief@gmail.com. Twitter/X: @haniefmha