KATHMANDU, Dec 19: The 10th edition of Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival organized by the Human Rights Film Center has started. National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) Chairman Top Bahadur Magar inaugurated the festival at the hall of Nepal Tourism Board in Kathmandu on Sunday. The Shanta Nepali-directed documentary 'Climbing Temperatures, Top of the World' was shown at the opening of the festival.

At the inauguration ceremony, Subha Sandhya Band also gave a musical performance. Speaking at the opening ceremony, NHRC Chairman Magar said that it is necessary to educate the remote and marginalized people about human rights. People in remote areas should be made aware of what human rights are by providing education on human rights. Cinema is a powerful medium for imparting human rights education. Therefore, this festival can play an important role in conveying the message of human rights. He said that the NHRC has also been conveying the message of rights by producing short films related to human rights.

Similarly, the chairman of the festival, Arun Dev Joshi, said that 64 films from 25 countries, including Nepal, will be screened at the festival, including narrative films, documentaries, and animations collected from open applications from around the world.

Director Abhinash Bikram Shah from Nepal, writer and director Anirban Bhattacharya from India, human rights campaigner and festival director Su-Lee Dilber from Korea and writer and director Oshra Sohwartz Reim from Israel will be the jury members. The films to be screened at the festival will be awarded with cash prizes for the best films in four categories. Similarly, an award will be given to one of the best Nepali female directors at the festival.

At the festival, a master class will be organized on the topic of "How to present hidden stories in a documentary?” Likewise, a panel discussion will be held with human rights activists, climate-related experts, and filmmakers on the topic of 'water and air change and justice'. There will be an interaction between human rights activists, film connoisseurs and artists on the topic of film and human rights every day at the festival, after the screening of the films.

The festival organized with the slogan of 'climate change and environmental justice' will continue till December 21. The short film 'Four Nights' directed by Deepak Rauniyar will be screened at the closing ceremony of the festival.