• www.projectkashmir.org

In the scenic Kashmir Valley, saffron fields carpet the hilltops and shikaras glide along moonlit waters. A disputed territory between India and Pakistan for over 50 years, Kashmir was once called paradise on earth but is now scarred by extremist violence. This acclaimed documentary follows two American friends, Geeta and Senain, as they travel to Kashmir to discover the realities of daily life there, and why the bloodshed continues.

Shot by Academy-Award-winning filmmaker Ross Kauffman (BORN INTO BROTHELS) and edited by Billy McMillin (IRAQ IN FRAGMENTS), PROJECT KASHMIR follows the two friends as the breathtaking beauty of Kashmir gives way to constant reminders of conflict: paramilitary troops sporting AK-47s, trucks gutted by roadside bombs and abandoned homes crumbling into the earth. Geeta and Senain talk with villagers, journalists and human rights activists (though an informant warns them that double-speak is a way of life as well as a survival tactic). Unsure of whom to trust and what to believe, they find themselves on opposite sides of the divide, their bonds of friendship tested in a realm where one's identity is questioned at every turn.

Screened at DocuWeek and the 2008 International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam, PROJECT KASHMIR portrays not only the tragedy of human conflict and suffering, but the power of courage and friendship, even in the face of war.

In Person: Senain Kheshgi, Geeta Patel