Srinagar, Sept. 10 -- The International Film Festival in Jammu and Kashmir has attracted several filmmakers, particularly from across the country to Kashmir, many of them for the first time - who say that Kashmir is a canvas waiting to be explored, as the festival has put the region on the global film map. The filmmakers and actors say that the film festival will have a profound effect on filmmaking in Kashmir and the development of regional cinema, while it will put the Himalayan valley again into the imagination of film-makers from across the country and even abroad. "Kashmir is so colourful and culturally so enriched. Kashmir should be explored," said Jaydip Mukherjee, a documentary filmmaker from Kolkata, whose film Painted memories- Calcutta Connect of Raj Kapoor was screened at SKICC on Tuesday. Mukherjee is visiting Kashmir for the first time even though he has so far made '400 documentaries in the past 40 years' with a number of national awards, India Panorama holder and UN award winner. "This is my first visit to Kashmir, and I am really feeling great. It is amazing that a big film festival is coming up and I hope over the years it will develop and flourish the film culture more and more. The people of Kashmir can see and interact with different films drawn from various parts of India and across the globe," he said. Kashmir has been a favourite place for Bollywood filmmakers to shoot their films before the start of militancy in the early 1990s. Though many have critiqued the trend, saying that the focus of the films has been on the beauty of the place rather than its people. "We would be looking for films made in Kashmir and made by Kashmiris," Mukherjee stressed. He said that there are a lot of subjects in Kashmir which should be promoted for documentary filmmaking. "These can be projected in a creative way- the artistry, the culture and the music through documentaries, short films or feature films," he said. Mithun Pramanik is in Kashmir for the screening of his two films 'The scientist who runs at night' and 'Little bit dreams'. He said that Kashmir has marked its presence on the global film festival map. "This is an amazing experience. We will be able to watch more than 120 films from 40 countries and interact with the people and filmmakers. This is an interesting take on cinema," he said. Another filmmaker, Vijay Choudhary's film 'The Music Shop-The symphony of the city' will be screened on Wednesday. "I have gone to many film festivals before, but I am surprised to see such a type of film festival in Kashmir. I got the opportunity to visit Kashmir through this festival, although I had visited here when I was a child. Now all my friends and acquaintances are interested in visiting Kashmir. This is a sort of cultural exchange," he said. "This festival will prove an inspiration for the college students visiting the festival and all the other youth. This can give them a boost to make films," he said. Film producer, director and actor, Akbar Khan, who starred in films like Haadsa and played the title role of Emperor Akbar in the classic TV serial Akbar The Great, said that there is no destination in the country other than Kashmir where films can be made so picturesquely. "Film festivals are cultural organisations which give platforms and form bridges between different countries to exchange culture, history and civilisation," he said. "There is no other destination in the country than J&K where films can be picturised so beautifully and picturesquely. There was a time many years back when every Bollywood company would shoot here. It had become an outdoor Bollywood studio for years," he said....