The story so far
The Directorate of Information & Public Relations announced earlier this year that J&K would host its first international film festival, and JammuBeat wrote about what it would mean for Jammu back in July. Since then the festival's own competition for J&K filmmakers under 40 has opened and closed. What nobody had was the programme.
Now there is one.
What's new
DIPR has announced the line-up for the 1st International Film Festival of Jammu & Kashmir, running 7 to 10 September 2026 under the theme Rang-e-Cinema: 135 films from 41 countries, and a prize purse of ₹96 lakh across nine categories.
The country split says a lot about the curation. India accounts for 64 of the 135 films. France follows with 13 and Iran with 8; Argentina and Spain have four each; Brazil, Germany, the Russian Federation and the United States three each, with further selections from South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Qatar, Colombia and Türkiye.
The money, category by category
Nine cash awards were announced:
- Best Film — ₹25 lakh
- Best Director — ₹15 lakh
- Best Debut Film of a Director — ₹15 lakh
- Best Film, J&K Select — ₹10 lakh
- Best Actor (Male) — ₹8 lakh
- Best Actor (Female) — ₹8 lakh
- Best Cinematography — ₹5 lakh
- Best Sound Design — ₹5 lakh
- Best Editing — ₹5 lakh
The one to look at twice is the fourth. A ₹10 lakh award ring-fenced for a film from J&K is, in a Union Territory where independent film-making has run largely on personal savings, the single largest cash prize on offer to a local production. It sits inside a dedicated J&K Select section, alongside International Competition, Bharat Panorama, Documentary/Hybrid, Short Films and a Dark Fantasy strand.
Who is judging, and who is teaching
The jury announced for the festival is Santosh Sivan, Resul Pookutty, Dorothee Wenner, Keiko Bang and Himansu Sekhar Khatuaa — a cinematographer and an Academy Award-winning sound designer alongside three programmers and producers with festival pedigree.
For anyone studying media, film or sound in Jammu, though, the masterclasses are the part worth planning around. Those announced are led by Vidhu Vinod Chopra, editor Namrata Rao, sound designer Baylon Fonseca, Chittranjan Tripathi and Supriyo Sen, with cinematographer Anil Mehta and an equipment workshop run by Canon.
Where Jammu actually fits
Here is the honest part. The festival's centre of gravity is Srinagar. The official venue list runs SKICC Srinagar, INOX Srinagar, the Gulmarg Convention Centre — and Movie Time Cinemas at KC Central, Jammu. The headline gimmick, a floating screen on Dal Lake near SKICC, is a Srinagar spectacle.
But Jammu has a screen on the official list, and that is not nothing. It means a student in Jammu can see festival programming without booking a bus to Srinagar — the first time that has been true here.
What has not been published, as of now, is the Jammu screening schedule or whether entry is ticketed or free. The festival site carries a registration prompt but no price. Until DIPR or the venue puts out a schedule, do not assume either.
What to do now
If you make films in J&K, the J&K Select section and its ₹10 lakh award are the reason to watch this closely — the earlier Emerging Filmmakers competition has already closed its intake, but the festival itself is where the sector's new money and new contacts will be in the room. If you just want to watch, keep 7 to 10 September clear and check iffjk.org for the Jammu schedule as it goes up.
Sources: the official IFFJK site for the dates, theme, venues and sections; Rising Kashmir and Daily Excelsior for the film count, prize amounts, jury and masterclasses.
