The festival, which has an array of films to showcase, will also hold special screenings of Toni Hagen’s “Cultural Vignettes of Nepal,” a film showcasing Nepal’s dances and music shot in the 1950s, and “Voice for Justice,” a film by OHCHR on the occasion of International Human Rights Day, falling on December 10, 2011 (today).[break]
A special category at the fest is The Nepal Panorama section which has six films to be screened in this category. “Buried in Tears” by Ashok Thapa, “Journey to Yarsa” by Dipendra Bhandari, “Lamaharu Anyolma (Lamas in Dilemma) by Ramesh Khadka, “Ma Khushi Chhu (I’m Happy) by Abinash Bikram Shah, “Secrets of Dhaulagiri” by Prabesh Subedi, and “Shambala: A Story of Paradise Lost” by Fidel Devkota are the selected ones.
Rashtriya Sabha Griha and Nepal Tourism Board, both on Exhibition Road, are the venues for showing the films.
Tickets are priced at Rs 40 each with 50% discount available for students.
The fest is will come to a close on December12.
Two of the directors who are selected for the above mentioned section, Ashok Thapa and Abinash Bikram Shah, took some time to talk to Republica and shared their experiences while and after filming their works.
Thapa’s “Buried in Tears,” focuses on the lives of struggling migrant workers, including Nepalis, in Korea. While Thapa shares the hopes, fears and shows the fight of the migrant workers for their basic human rights, Shah’s “Ma Khushi Chhu” tries to unfold the meaning of happiness.
Both films are scheduled to be screened on Saturday, December 10 (today) at KIMFF.
Abinash Bikram Shah
Tell us about” Ma Khushi Chhu” and what got you into filmmaking.
The film revolves around Vashna who lives to make others happy, and Aakash who is an aimless wanderer, with no ambitions other than to live happily in the moment. When the two disparate souls meet, both are forced to rethink the meaning of happiness.
They bond by the medium of radio and share their incompleteness. Vashna writes passionate letters about her life and experiences, as she wants Aakash to feel her life more intimately.
Aakash, a radio jockey, reads those letters in which he finds some kind of attachment and solace. And they find comfort in their growing relationship and discover their new meaning of happiness, though they have never met physically.
I began with a documentary on wannabe rock musicians, which was screened at KIMFF. I made the film only because I was into Rock music. But while at it, I enjoyed it so much that I decided on making it my career.
You began as a documentary maker but fiction seems to attract you more.
Well, yes. I don’t have any plans of making another documentary. You can say I love fiction and that’s what I’ll do for the rest of my life. Telling stories fascinates me and I really hope I’m able to tell stories and make people happy.
When do we get to see the next fiction film from you?
I’m working on a story right now. The story is of love in the midst of war. The film is going to take time since the story itself is going to take time.
Ashok Thapa
What enticed you to film the story of the workers?
When I left for Korea, I was extremely excited about going to a foreign land and earning money. The very first day, however, I learnt that Korea was nothing like what I had expected. The room I was given was small and dark. It was very dirty, too, and my workplace was no better. Although devastated, I had no option but to stay back, owing to money issues back home.
Later, I joined Migrant Workers Television (MWTV), and once I got to understand camera, I thought I should film the problems of migrant workers and bring forth the injustice happening to them. I knew I could tell the tale as I was a part of it.
The title given to migrant workers in Korea is “Disposable Labor.” How much is that true?
Amnesty International Korea used the term and it is entirely true. Migrant workers are kept in a bad state. There is a lot of verbal and psychical abuse, although I must mention it’s less compared to the Gulf countries. There are so many instances when a factory worker will lose his physical part and the factory owner will do nothing about it. You can take, for example, Minu, the singer in my documentary who was thrown out of the country after spending two decades in the country.
You’re making another film called “Prabasi” on a similar topic. What’s the fascination?
After making “Buried in Tears” and especially after having it screened at KIMFF, I’ve received a lot of positive comments. There are those who are willing to help and this has worked as an inspiration for me. Also, there are so many other aspects of lives of migrant workers which I think need to be addressed and I hope I can do that through cinema.
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