Authentic Voice
Kashmiri stories told by Kashmiris, in their own language, from inside the Valley rather than about it.
About Shabrang Films
The actual voice of Kashmir.
Srinagar · Jammu & Kashmir
Shabrang Films is an independent film and creative production studio founded by filmmaker Mir Afnaan Nissar in Srinagar, Jammu & Kashmir. We make original cinema in the language and texture of the Valley, from 100-second micro-shorts to narrative films, and we support productions that come to Kashmir to tell their stories.
Our work begins inside the community: local casts, local crews, local truths. Every film is conceived with intention and crafted to travel, carrying an authentic Kashmiri voice to festivals, screens and audiences anywhere in the world. Alongside the slate, the studio runs a masterclass, an international co-production lab and an on-set apprenticeship that grow the region's filmmaking ecosystem.
- 07Productions on the slate
- 5+Micro-shorts from the 2026 lab
- 03Day free masterclass, 2025
- 2ndTUM ChangeMaker Awards 2025
Studio Tenets
Six principles. Every frame.
What we believe about cinema, and about Kashmir's place in it.
Human Truth
The moral contradictions of everyday life matter more than spectacle. We film people as they are.
Craft Rigor
Shot breakdowns, disciplined sets and precise form. Ambition is measured in preparation.
Cultural Sovereignty
Kashmir represented on its own terms, never reduced to the stereotypes that outside cinema has imposed.
Sustainable Ecosystem
Local crews, low-waste sets and training on every production, so the industry can grow from within.
Global Reach
Conceived in Srinagar, crafted to travel. Regional specificity is what makes a film universal.
Founder Profile
Mir Afnaan Nissar
Director · Screenwriter · Producer · Srinagar, Kashmir
Mir Afnaan Nissar is a director, screenwriter and producer based in Srinagar, Kashmir, and the founder of Shabrang Films. His work moves between the compressed precision of the 100-second micro-short and longer-form narrative cinema rooted in Kashmiri language and life.
He directed HAQQ and ZAHAR, both made through the studio's 2026 International Co-Production Lab with the 100 Second International Film Festival of Iran, and conceived ZAAYI, an environmental parable set on the Jhelum. He is now directing and producing MAJBOORI, a Kashmiri-language short in production in Srinagar, and his slate in development includes JAVAID GORA, QADAM and RAH BAKSHTAM.
Through Shabrang Films he has also built a training pipeline for the region: the free Shabrang Filmmaking Masterclass in 2025, the International Co-Production Lab in 2026, and an on-set Creative Apprenticeship in Srinagar. Beyond film, he has been working on Kashmiri AI, a dataset for the Kashmiri language.
Artistic Philosophy
His cinema works through contradiction: the devotee who saves water and pollutes a river, the mourners who console and steal, the worshipper walking to prayer in stolen slippers. The films do not lecture. They observe, dramatise and reveal, then trust the audience to sit with what they have seen. The camera is placed with intent, sometimes at floor level, and the stories are made with local casts and crews, in the language of the place.
Recognition
First Runner-Up (2nd Place), 2025 TUM ChangeMaker Awards. Awarded to Shabrang Films for sustainable regional cinema.
Workshops & Incubators
Srinagar sessions. Building the bench.
Each edition opens the studio's process to new filmmakers. Select a milestone to explore it.
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An international co-production lab held in Srinagar with the 100 Second International Film Festival of Iran. Working within the discipline of a 100-second runtime, the lab produced more than five micro-shorts in the city.
- 5+Micro-shorts produced in Srinagar
- 100sRuntime discipline
- 02Lab films on the slate: Haqq & Zahar
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The studio's first public workshop: three free days in Srinagar that opened up the working craft of cinema to anyone who wanted to learn it.
- 03Days of intensive training
- FreeOpen to the public
- 04Core modules
- Direction
- Lensing
- Shot Breakdowns
- Screenwriting
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The masterclass and the lab continue on set. Apprentices train inside Shabrang productions in screenwriting, assistant directing, cinematography, sound recording and line production.
Work With the Studio
Collaborate, co-produce or come and learn.
Whether you are bringing a production to Kashmir or taking your first steps in film, the studio door in Srinagar is open.