KATHMANDU

Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff) organized a press meet on Sunday at Mandala Theatre, Anamnagar. In the press meet, Basanta Thapa, Chair of Kimff and Ramyata Limbu, festival director of KIMFF shared the insights about 17 th edition of Kimff scheduled for December 11 to 15 at City Hall, Pradarshani Marg.

Two short movies were screened to give a sneak peek on the types of films to be showcased in the five-day film festival. This year more than 70 films from 29 countries will be screened back-to-back, which will include documentaries, fiction, shorts, and experimental films.

Co-hosted by Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kimff 2019 seeks to include diverse voices and stories under the festival tagline “Voices from the Margins”. “We hope the festival through its line-up of films and events will entertain audiences and engage them in conversations around issues that affect the Nepali public,” said Thapa.

Kimff 2019 will celebrate Sir Edmund Hillary’s centennial year by opening with a special screening of ‘The Ascent of Everest’, about the conquest of Everest by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay Sherpa on May29, 1953. The film features narration of Sir Edmund Hillary as he revisits momentous situations during the climb.

Kimff 2019 will present a special section of films from Switzerland that reflect similarities between the two countries despite differences in language and culture. This year Kimff and Open Society Foundations will present ‘Paribartit Nepal’ a short film competition for young Nepali filmmakers. The three best shorts will receive Rs 40,000, Rs 30,000, and Rs 20,000 respectively. Kimff’s Nepal Panorama will once again showcase 17 exciting films by local talent.

The Kimff 2019 jury comprises performance artist Ashmina Ranjit (Nepal), festival director Gabriela Kuhn (Poland), film director Lee Jae Kyoo (Korea), and climber Phil Coates (UK). The jury will decide the top three films in the international competition (17 shortlisted) and the top documentary film and fiction film in the Nepal Panorama selection.

The top three prizes are Rs 200,000, Rs. 150,000, Rs 100,000 for the international competition sponsored by Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Deep Laxmi Foundation, Fredi-Ursulla Wohland from Switzerland, respectively. In Nepal Panorama, the Nepal Film Development Board will sponsor a cash prize of Rs 75,000 for Best Documentary and Mila Productions will sponsor a cash prize of Rs 100,000 for the Tsekye Sherpa Award for Best Fiction.

The Audience Award of Rs 75,000 is sponsored by Oscar International College of Film Studies. In the presence of filmmakers, film enthusiasts, critics, scholars, journalists, artists and mountaineers, Kimff will include discussion forums, guest lectures, exhibitions of books and photos and installation art projects.

Kimff will co-present an interactive story telling session about snow leopard conservation with WWF Nepal; “Rewrite Her Story” - a panel discussion with Plan International Nepal; “Championing Young Filmmakers” – screening and panel discussion with the British Council.

Festival highlights also include Master Classes by Australian adventurer and filmmaker Michael Dillon and Nepali artist Tsherin Sherpa. Kimff 2019 is supported by Open Society Foundations (OSF), SDC, WWF Nepal, Plan International Nepal, Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Toni Hagen Foundation, British Council Nepal, Unicef, the Australian Embassy and Alliance Francaise. The festival is promoted by Nepal Tourism Board.

Kimff is a member of Turin based International Alliance of Mountain Film (IAMF). IAMF has 28 members from 20 countries.