Organized by the Indigenous Film Archive (IFA) of Nepal, the venues for the festival are City Hall and Nepal Tourism Board on Exhibition Road. The theme for this year’s four-day festival is “Equal Access and Participation of Indigenous Peoples in Media.”
The organizers received 69 film entries from 22 countries this year out of which films from 18 countries will be showcased at the festival. There are 27 foreign films, documentaries, music videos and animation films from countries such as Guatemala, New Zealand, Germany, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Ecuador, Russia, and Honduras.[break]
There are 23 films, documentaries and music videos chosen to be screened from the entries submitted from Nepal. Stories from different Nepal’s ethnic communities such as Chepang, Dhimal, Thakali, Rai and Newar will be screened during the event.
The three best films will be decided by a panel of three judges with Carlos Gomez from Colombia, Kui Ing Seng from Taiwan Indigenous Television, and Shashikala Manandhar from Nepal.
Under the Nepal Panorama category, the indigenous films from Nepal will compete with each other, and the best film will receive cash prize and a citation. An ‘Encouragement Award’ is also given in this category.
A conference on the topic ‘Indigenous Communication Act’ has also been organized for April 27 from 8 to 10 am. Taiwan Indigenous Television is organizing a film workshop on the last day of the festival.
Visitors can also enjoy the food festival where they can sample the various dishes from the Magar, Tamang, Newar, Lohorung, Chepang, and Rai indigenous nationalities of Nepal. Handicraft stalls will also be placed at the festival.
Festival Director Sanjog Laapthaa Magar thanked the participants without whom the festival wouldn’t be possible.
“This year, we’re showing stories and voices which have never been shown or heard before,” he said.
The festival will showcase different visual narratives related to the environment, cultures, folk wisdom and languages.
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