Bam-e-Dunya Film Festival (Roof of the World film festival)
Bam-e-Dunya (the ‘roof of the world’), which includes Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan, is a hotspot of biodiversity and provides several ecosystem services, especially the waters that irrigate the food baskets and feed millions of people downstream. However, climate change and the pace of infrastructure developments in the region and its implications on conservation and development present diverse subjects for filmmakers, around socioeconomic and ecological impacts and sustainability.
Remote mountain communities that have historically been on the periphery and insulated from change are now rapidly transforming with emerging digital technologies, connectivity, and penetration of market forces. WWF-Pakistan, along with partners including International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), Tourism Department Gilgit-Baltistan, Karakoram International University, Gilgit-Baltistan Rural Support Program (GBRSP), EVK2CNR, Special Communication Organization (SCO), Environmental Protection Agency Gilgit-Baltistan and Alpine Club aim to create a platform for the filmmakers belonging to Gilgit-Baltistan and Chitral who are keen on research, stories, documentation of mountain ecology and changes occurring in the mountain regions, i.e., socio-economic, climate change, food security, landscape, tourism, etc.
This space will offer filmmakers a platform to share and discuss local and regional challenges, opportunities, success stories of women, and provide an opportunity for local researchers and filmmakers to interact, discuss, form networks and identify and act on opportunities for joint ventures while playing a role towards effective policy formulation and gender inclusion.