October 29 will mark the commencement of 15th edition of Dharamshala International Film Festival (DIFF). On the occasion, Sushil Chaudhary, CEO of PictureTime Digiplex, spoke about their association with DIFF, what makes the festival a unique experience.
PictureTime’s earliest contribution was enabling DIFF to screen films in pure DCP format, bringing mountain screenings in line with global exhibition standards. The early hurdle was physical as well as technical. Today, the team acts as a secure transit vault and technical custodian—receiving, onboarding, and managing DCPs and running rigorous quality checks. In an official statement, Sushil recalled, “When Ritu (Sarin) and Tenzing (Sonam) first approached us, I was immediately drawn to their wonderful vision of bringing meaningful independent cinema to the mountains.”
The association between DIFF and PictureTime began in 2018 as a single experimental setup, and has now evolved into a comprehensive partnership spanning three inflatable structures and the master audiovisual infrastructure for the festival’s main screen.
The mechanics of operating in Dharamshala also means wrestling with narrow mountain roads, constrained unloading zones, fluctuating ground moisture, and biting temperature swings. Preparation for the film festival begins weeks before equipment touches the foothills. Engineers map ground conditions, vehicle clearance, power distribution, and structural anchoring against sudden mountain winds. The climate demands relentless calibration.
Sushil added, “What an audience sees as a fully functional cinema theatre is actually a carefully engineered modular system designed to travel. For me, the real achievement is that today when filmmakers and audience enter a PictureTime theatre at DIFF, they aren't thinking about the fact that they are sitting inside a temporary inflatable structure in the Himalayas. They are simply experiencing cinema the way it is meant to be experienced."
PictureTime’s model, championing mobile exhibition, deploys fully functional, DCI-compliant 150-seater e-cinemas and entertainment complexes for a fraction of traditional costs. “Balancing structural integrity, acoustic dampening, and climate control inside a patented inflatable cinema requires absolute precision. If we can successfully operate a professional cinema in the mountains, we can take this experience to almost any underserved region of India," Chaudhary adds.
The robust slate at DIFF 2026, which will be held from October 29 to November 1, this year includes Rima Das’ Not a Hero and Kirti Kulhari’s Kinaare.
