For four days, from 24- 27 October 2013, the hills of Dharamshala will come alive with the sights and sounds of over thirty fiction, documentary, short and experimental films carefully selected from the best of contemporary world cinema. Attending the festival will be filmmakers, producers, film critics, film festival directors, and of course, legions of film lovers, all coming together to celebrate independent cinema in the beautiful mountain setting of Dharamshala. Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF) 2013 has announced that several India premieres are on the programme. This year, a special focus is on films with strong social overtones, dealing with issues from urban alienation to women’s rights to illegal migrants. A number of films have young protagonists at their centre, children or teenagers struggling to overcome a range of personal setbacks and dilemmas. An unusual sidebar, curated in collaboration with Vienna-based Thyssen-Bornemisza Art Contemporary Foundation, will present a series of films made by leading international artists, rarely seen outside the gallery space. A range of recent short films from India, curated by noted Marathi filmmaker UmeshKulkarni, will also be presented at the festival. Details of the film line-up as well as the schedule are now live on DIFF website. The programming is eclectic and adventurous during this very special festival in the Himalayas!