A still from ‘Homebound’.
| Photo Credit: Dharma Productions/YouTube
Filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan’s film Homebound, which was recently chosen as India’s contender for the Oscars 2026, will open the upcoming edition of the Dharamshala International Film Festival. The 14th edition will open with Ishaan Khatter and Vishal Jethwa-starrer Homebound and close with Anuparna Roy’s Venice prize winner Songs of Forgotten Trees.
DIFF will take place from October 30 to November 2. The festival continues its partnership with Sydney Film Festival, welcoming two Australian films and their filmmakers: Emma Hough Hobbs and Leela Varghese’s queer sci-fi Lesbian Space Princess and Gabrielle Brady’s The Wolves Always Come at Night, Australia’s Oscar submission.
Programming highlights include Bhutan’s Oscar entry I, The Song by Dechen Roder; Rohan Parashuram Kanawade’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Cactus Pears; Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language Kneecap; and Raoul Peck’s documentary Orwell 2+2=5.
The lineup also features Spanish director Carla Simon’s Romeria; Hlynur Palmason’s Cannes entry The Love That Remains; Sara Khaki and Mohammadreza Eyni’s Cutting Through Rocks; Prabhash Chandra’s Alaav; Kunsang Kyirong’s 100 Sunset; and Tannishtha Chatterjee’s Busan-debuting Full Plate, starring Kirti Kulhari and Sharib Hashmi.
The festival will feature a masterclass by acclaimed filmmaker Kiran Rao. Actor Adil Hussain will also conduct a session on how performers can bring authenticity to their characters across diverse cultural contexts. Speaking about the upcoming edition, festival Directors Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam said, “We never set out to become one of the most prominent independent festivals in the country. We simply believed that meaningful cinema deserved a home in the mountains.”
DIFF has grown organically over 14 years – not through flash or hype, but through the passion of filmmakers, the trust of our audiences, and the community that returns year after year. That’s what makes it so meaningful,” they added. Programming director Bina Paul has curated a lineup that includes Andrey Tarkovsky’s son, Andrey A Tarkovsky, presenting the documentary Andrey Tarkovsky: A Cinema Prayer, in person, featuring rare archival footage of the legendary Russian filmmaker. He will talk about the work and legacy of his father.
Published – October 29, 2025 06:29 pm IST
