Bilal Dar
Situated in Kashmir, Wular Lake is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Asia. WLISFF is the first of its kind to be held in the heart of District ‘Baramulla’ in “Auditorium GDC”. The festival aims to provide a platform for Indie-Filmmakers & Student Filmmakers to showcase their work to diverse audiences.
[Submissions are free on early bird deadline for Local (Kashmiri) & Female Iranian Filmmakers reserved under special category]
Mr. Majid Imtiyaz along with a team of enthusiastic volunteers conducts and hosts WLISFF yearly in Baramulla. The objective of WLISFF is to feature great cinema of worldwide filmmakers in a big way and at the same time provide professional networking and introduction of the current trends of cinema to the participants. The festival goal is to empower independent filmmakers and commit to becoming a premium movie-going event that fosters the growth of independent filmmakers. The festival is giving away awards and certificates of honor as well!
Majid Imtiyaz a local filmmaker and the festival director said that the aim of organizing the festival is to revive the lost film culture in the valley. “Our endeavor is to bring this festival in the list of top ten film festivals of the world which will empower the Kashmiri youth and film enthusiasts,” he said.
“Besides screening of films, we have also been holding workshops for media students and film buffs who get a chance to interact with the renowned film stars,” he added.
However, the 3rd edition of the Wular Lake International Short-Film Festival (WLISFF) has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
“At this time of global health crisis, the management has decided to call off the festival till August,”
The festival was being organized in collaboration with FilmFreeway Festhome and several sponsors.
Imtiyaz said, “This year too we had received more than a hundred film entries that include local, national and international short movies. We had finalized around 70 best films among them”.
The festival had received entries from around the globe with applicants from 42 countries.