Dharamshala International Film Festival

As a response to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Dharamshala International Film Festival 2021 will be held online beginning 4 November*. If the situation permits, a hybrid version of the festival that includes physical screenings will be held at the same time. DIFF's online streaming will continue to be powered by Shift72. The Dharamshala International Film Festival was started in 2012 by filmmakers and Dharamshala residents, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam. It is held annually in McLeod Ganj, a town with no cinemas that is best known as the exile home of the Dalai Lama. Focusing on showcasing the best of independent films from India and around the world, the festival has gained a reputation for its eclectic and adventurous programming, its beautiful mountain setting, and its intimate and cinema-literate atmosphere. DIFF attracts the finest indie filmmakers, film critics and film lovers from across the country and from abroad. In 2020, DIFF was the first and only major film festival in India to go entirely online. This extended the reach of DIFF across South Asia and enabled many new viewers to participate in the festival. The Asian Age called the festival “India’s Sundance”. Leading film critic Namrata Joshi, a regular DIFF visitor, said: “It has now become a go-to event in my diary…I love the vibe, the intimacy, warmth, cheerfulness and the fact that it gives you space to breathe between films and absorb them.”