Tenth anniversary of Free Spirit Film Festival kicks off

The tenth anniversary of the Free Spirit Film Festival begins today with 30 films from around the world.

The festival will open with the India première of Plundering Tibet, a documentary highlighting the dire consequences of China’s ruthless mining in Tibet.

Closing the festival will be Umformung — The Transformation, a story of intense dimensions with two parallel narratives: One, that of a Buddhist monk in a search for his inner truths, and the other of a female city builder whose belief in life is all about power, greed, and manipulation.

Hope (Hoffnung), Kuti Khanti, and Antar — Bridging the Gap, all in the Short categories, will have their world premières at the festival.

There will be 13 film awards chosen by a grand jury, and an audience award decided by the film-goers, organisers said.

The annual Free Spirit Award 2014 will also be announced at the opening of the film festival. The Award was started in 2003, and is given to show appreciation for people working for peace and justice, social, and environmental issues from around the world.

The Free Spirit Film Festival screens films in all genres from all over the world, manifesting true “free spirit”.

The Festival is independent, and aims to promote independent filmmakers, and give audiences exposure to different ideas, cultures, creative forms, movements, and activism from all over the world.

The festival will be held for five days, from 25 to 29 October, at the Tibetan Day School at Dolma Chowk, McLeod Ganj, from 5 pm onwards.