J-K must evolve into vibrant creative hub: CM at film festival

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir must evolve from being merely a scenic cinematic backdrop into a vibrant creative hub that conceives and produces its own stories, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah has said.

Addressing a gathering of international delegates, filmmakers and artists at the concluding ceremony of the first International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir (IFFJK) at the SKICC along the banks of Dal Lake on Thursday, Abdullah emphasised that the region has far more to offer the film world than its postcard-perfect terrain.

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, L Murugan, also attended the event.

"For decades, Kashmir travelled to audiences through the cinema screen. This week, in a sense, the screen came back to Kashmir. I hope the floating cinema remains one of the defining memories of the first film festival of J&K," Abdullah said, highlighting special open-air screenings on Dal Lake of classic films like 'Junglee', 'Aarzoo', 'Kashmir Ki Kali', and 'Kabhi Kabhie'.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir's long relationship with cinema, the CM spoke about the films and the filmmakers who made Kashmir part of the visual memory of generations in India.

"Over the last few evenings, something rather special has happened. Those films and others from that era have returned to Dal Lake. 'Junglee', 'Aarzoo', 'Kashmir Ki Kali', and 'Kabhi Kabhie' have been screened against the very landscape that helped make them memorable," he said.

Abdullah, however, stressed that "nostalgia cannot define our future".

"Our ambition must go beyond being a beautiful filming location. Jammu and Kashmir must increasingly become a place from which stories emerge, talent is discovered, and films are conceived and created," he said.

The four-day festival featured 120 films from more than 30 countries, hosting masterclasses, panel discussions, and collaborative sessions spanning technology, craft, and storytelling.

Asserting that Jammu and Kashmir has far more to offer cinema than landscapes, Abdullah said, "Our stories live in our cities, towns and villages, in our languages, literature, music, craft, history, and everyday life".

"Our landscapes may bring filmmakers here, but our stories, our people, and our professional filmmaking environment can bring them back. We must therefore build a two-way relationship: welcoming filmmakers from India and the world, while creating opportunities for talent from Jammu and Kashmir to find audiences and collaborators beyond these borders," he said.

At the heart of this, he said, must be investment in our young people.

"Their participation in the festival has been especially encouraging. I hope some of these encounters have opened new possibilities," he added.

Abdullah urged the participants to become ambassadors for Jammu and Kashmir.

"You came as our guests; I hope you leave as friends of Jammu and Kashmir and partners in what we are trying to build," he said.

The CM said the festival's long-term success would not be judged by the stars in attendance, or the titles screened this week, but by the careers launched in J&K over the next decade.

"Ten years from now, the International Film Festival of Jammu and Kashmir's success will be measured not by the films screened or the personalities who joined us, but by the careers that began here, the opportunities and collaborations it created, and the stories from Jammu and Kashmir that reached audiences across India and the world," he said.

Inviting industry veterans to return not just to shoot, but to mentor and teach, Abdullah said our mountains and lakes may bring filmmakers here once, but the experience of working here must bring them back again.

"To our visiting filmmakers, actors, and delegates, my invitation is simple: come back to shoot, write, teach, collaborate, and discover more of Jammu and Kashmir," he added.

Urging young local filmmakers and storytellers to learn the craft, experiment, and begin, Abdullah said they must tell us stories of their neighbourhoods, villages, families, and generation.

"Some of cinema's most powerful voices are intimate and local. What matters is that the voice be authentic and the craft remains strong," he stressed.

The chief minister said the opportunity before us now is for Jammu and Kashmir increasingly to reflect itself through cinema, to tell its own stories, in its own voices, and with confidence, and to share them with audiences across India and the world.

"Government can provide the platform and an enabling environment, but a vibrant film culture must be sustained by the creative community itself. Cinema also brings wider economic opportunities, supporting professionals, local services, artists, craftspeople, and businesses," he said.

Films coming to Jammu and Kashmir should therefore leave behind not only memorable images, but also skills, employment, and stronger local capabilities, Abdullah added.