NEW DELHI: The Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) will return for its landmark 15th edition from October 29 to November 1 with Gurvinder Singh's "Rehmat", Shaunak Sen's "Termite" and Oliver Laxe's "Sirat" among the films in the lineup, the organisers have announced.
The film gala, which will be held at the Tibetan Children's Village (TCV) in Upper Dharamshala, will present curated screenings, workshops, masterclasses, conversations and mentorship sessions, the organisers said in a statement.
Founded in 2012 by filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, DIFF has grown into one of India's leading independent film festivals and has provided a platform for emerging filmmakers.
"When we started DIFF, we wanted to create a space in Dharamshala where independent films could be experienced in a communal setting, and where filmmakers and audiences could spend time with each other beyond the screening room. Fifteen years later, that spirit remains at the heart of the festival. We are excited to welcome everyone back to the mountains for this year's landmark edition," the founders said.
Bina Paul, the festival's director of programming, said curation has always been central to DIFF.
While curating, we look for distinctive voices, boundary-pushing filmmaking and films that open up new ways of seeing and thinking," she said.
Among the films in the lineup is "Rehmat" by National Award-winning filmmaker Gurvinder Singh, which adapts stories by Punjabi writer Ajeet Cour and explores displacement, memory, conflict and compassion in present-day Punjab.
Starring Naseeruddin Shah, the film had its world premiere in the main competition of the Locarno Film Festival in August.
"Termite" is Sen's first fiction film after his Oscar-nominated documentary "All That Breathes".
The short film, set in the lanes of Old Delhi, follows two middle-aged men whose lives are disrupted by an unexpected marriage proposal. It had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival last month.
The lineup also includes "Members of the Problematic Family" by Tamil filmmaker R Gowtham, which portrays a family dealing with grief after the death of a troubled young man.
"Celtic Utopia" by Dennis Harvey and Lars Loven looks at contemporary Ireland through its folk music and cultural heritage.
"The Ordinary Star" by Samreen Farooqui and Shabani Hassanwalia follows Nawazuddin Siddiqui as he studies the real-life resident of the room his character inhabits in Dibakar Banerjee's "Star".
"Sirat" by Óliver Laxe is a road film about a father searching for his missing daughter across the deserts of southern Morocco, alongside a group of ravers.
"Time and Water", from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Sara Dosa, is a documentary on Icelandic writer Andri Snær Magnason and the changing landscapes of his homeland.
"9 Temples to Heaven" by Thai director Sompot Chidgasornpongse follows a family on a pilgrimage to nine temples in a single day.
The festival's year-round initiatives include DIFF On the Road, which takes curated film programmes to audiences outside Dharamshala. Its collaborations have included the Sa Ladakh Biennale, the Kochi Biennale and Colomboscope in Sri Lanka.
The DIFF Himalayan Film Fellows Programme, supported by Arthshila, backs filmmakers from the Indian Himalayan Region who are working on their first or second feature-length fiction film.
Seven fellows selected for the 2026 programme will work with three mentors: Bhutanese director Dechen Roder and Indian independent filmmakers Umesh Kulkarni and Dominic Sangma.
The Kiran Nadar Museum of Art (KNMA), the festival's learning partner, will hold drop-in activities on all four days, including cyanotype printing, film-strip weaving and a collaborative mosaic mural designed by Tibetan artist Tashi Nyima.
DIFF has also organised community screenings across the Kangra region, in partnership with Royal Enfield Social Mission. Screenings have been held at schools, universities, nunneries, NGOs and the district jail.