The fifth Jammu Film Festival scheduled its curtain-raiser for September 17, 2026, at the Writers Club in Jammu's Abhinav Theatre. Akashvani's September 14 report gave an 11 a.m. start and said organisers had invited filmmakers, artists, cinema enthusiasts and members of the public. The main festival was scheduled for September 28 and 29.
Festival director Rohit Bhat had briefed Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on August 26. Brighter Kashmir's account of that briefing reported 210 submissions from 35 countries, with 41 films from 16 countries shortlisted for screening. Another 12 films from Jammu and Kashmir were to be presented separately in a regional showcase.
The organiser's FilmFreeway listing named Vomedh as the organising group and Rakesh Roshan Bhat and Rohit Bhat as directors. It advertised a Rs1 lakh Best Local Production award, alongside Rs10,000 for best feature, Rs8,000 for best web series, Rs5,000 for best short film and Rs3,000 for best documentary. Feature and short-film recognition also covered direction, acting, editing and cinematography.
Among the scheduled documentaries was AVA, written, directed and produced by Mohammad Hossein Bagherifard. Distributor AD1 FILM's September 13 announcement placed it at 10 a.m. on September 28 at the Writer's Club, first in that venue's documentary programme. The company handled the film's worldwide distribution.
AVA follows Ava Kiyani, a young Iranian carpenter, observing the physical work and the attitudes she encounters in a male-dominated occupation. The distributor's August 10 film note identifies it as a Persian-language production from 2025, running 23 minutes and 39 seconds. Mohammad Javad Mazrouei handled cinematography; Rasoul Sabouri edited and colour-graded the documentary. Before the Jammu selection, it had been selected for the documentary competition at Greece's 12th International Alexandria Short Film Festival.
