07 November,2024 04:29 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Still from All We Imagine As Light
If you can't go to the movies, the movies will come to you - even if you're in the foothills of the Himalayas. Mobile theatre company PictureTime Digiplex has teamed up yet again with Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) for its 13th edition, which begins today with filmmaker Payal Kapadia's Cannes winner All We Imagine as Light.
More than 80 films from 28 countries will be screened at these state-of-the-art inflatable digital cinemas - set against the stunning Dhauladhar mountains - providing a unique cinematic experience at an altitude of nearly 5,000 ft.
All We Imagine as Light, the coming of age friendship drama which became the first movie from India to make it to the Cannes' main competition in 30 years, will be shown on all festival screens on the opening night.
The four-day-long festival closing will be held at Tibetan Children's Village in Upper Dharamshala, where PictureTime has set up two inflatable cinemas at mountain tops.
Additionally, two existing venues have also been turned into cinema halls with audio-video logistics provided by the company, where renowned titles such as Dibakar Banerjee's Tees, Sandhya Suri's police procedural Santosh starring Shahana Goswami, actor-couple Richa Chadha-Ali Fazal's maiden production Girls Will be Girls (directed by Shuchi Talathi), Rima Das' Village Rockstars 2, filmmaker Onir's We Are Faheem & Karun and Shonali Bose and Nilesh Maniyar's A Fly on the Wall among others will be showcased.
Sushil Chaudhary, Founder, PictureTime Digiplex, says the mobile digital movie theater concept is designed to create a "portable solution" that can bring the latest films to the most remote parts of India. This year with DIFF - founded in 2012 by filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam - Chaudhary says the aim is to elevate a regular cinema viewing experience to an unforgettable spectacle in the hills.
"In our early years with DIFF, we offered fewer screens and more basic projection and sound systems. But this year, we've significantly upgraded, bringing in two of our Mobile Digital Movie Theatres (MDMTs) and transforming the main auditorium into a world-class cinematic venue. We're enhancing the sound system to create an immersive audio experience that rivals the best theatres worldwide. These upgrades will allow DIFF attendees to experience films as they were intended to be seen and heard, adding a new dimension to this year's festival," reads a statement from Chaudhary.
In the last few years, PictureTime has been serving as the screening partner for several festivals held in regions where it is difficult to mount movie screens. In 2022, it partnered with International Tribal Film Festival (ITFF) in Arunachal Pardesh, followed by Himalayan Film Festival in Ladakh (held at all altitude of more than 11,000 ft) and has also been affiliated with International Film Festival of India (IFFI).
