Kathmandu. Kathmandu Metropolitan City is going to organize the ‘Kathmandu Film Festival’ from Friday to Sunday. The metropolis is going to organize this festival with the aim of transferring art to the new generation while respecting the old generation and searching for the stories that are yet to be told in Kathmandu.
According to Naveen Manandhar, spokesperson of the Metropolitan Municipality, the festival will be attended by famous personalities of international level, including veteran actress Shawana Azmi of the Indian film industry, distinguished professor of Shanghai Film Academy Marco Muller, Japanese film director Takayuki Nakamura and Indian film programmer Deepti D’Cunha.
Various programs including red carpet, screening of old Nepali movies, interaction and master class will be organized in this festival which will last for three days. On the second day of the festival, there will be a discussion on ‘Films, Festivals and Meaningful Life’ with the participation of Shawana Azmi at the Nepal Tourism Board, while there will be a discussion on ‘Films and Festivals for the Promotion of Creative Cities’ with the participation of Deepti D Cunha.
On the same day, Japanese director Nakamura will make an introductory presentation of the ‘Yagamata UNESCO Film City Shorts’ at the National Assembly House. On October 15, the Tourism Board will conduct a master class on “Film Aesthetics between the Global South and International Festivals” by Professor Marco Müller, as well as a special panel discussion on “Past, Present and Future of the Nepali Film Industry”.
As part of an effort to preserve the history of Nepali cinema, the Metropolitan Corporation will screen the historical films ‘Kumari’ and ‘Ke Ghar Ke Dera’ from the 1970s and 80s. Under the ‘International Panorama’ held at Jai Nepal Cinema House, international contemporary and independent films including China’s ‘Dear You’, India’s ‘Bayan’, France’s ‘La Gravida’ and Hollywood’s much-loved film ‘God Father’ will be shown.
Apart from this, 10 ‘Nepal Panorama Shorts’ and 11 short videos of the Youth Video Challenge selected out of 75 received through an open call to promote local talent will also be screened. The selected short films will be given 1-1 lakh rupees and the best three teams of youth videos will be given 1 lakh 50 thousand, 1 lakh and 50 thousand rupees respectively.
The Metropolitan Municipality is trying to develop this festival as a strong means of creative industry, local economy and tourism promotion. The festival has collaborated with the American Embassy, Australian Embassy, UNESCO, Alliance Francaise, Jai Nepal Cinema Ghar, Hanumandhoka Darbar and Buddhist Area Development Committee. Entry to the festival is completely free for general audience, for which free digital tickets can be reserved through the Himalaya Pay app.