KATHMANDU, Oct 29: Film Southasia 2017 has launched a mobile app for the 11th edition of the premiere non-fiction film festival for the region. The Festival opens on November 2 at the Yalamaya Kendra, Lalitpur, with the theme ‘Documentary Bears Witness’.
According to the press statement released the mobile app – available for iPhone and Android phones on App Store and Google Play Store -- is free to download and features information regarding documentaries to be screened during the FSA’17 and their screening schedule. The app allows the screening schedule to be included in the user’s personal mobile calendar, thus allowing users to keep track of and set notification alarms for the movies of their choice.
Gearing up for Film Southasia 2017
The app, named ‘Film Southasia 2017’, also allows users to view and update feed, exchange messages, view news and updates on the festival as well as provide feedback to the organizers. The statement added that the app can be connected to user’s existing Facebook and Twitter accounts. The App is powered by EventsMo. EvenstsMo offers the all in one event management app platform to create complete app that enhances users’ event experience, boosts engagement, connects attendees and delegates networking.
The press statement quoting Rewati Gurung, assistant festival director stated, “The Film Southasia 2017 app has been made for the benefit of our audiences in order to keep them updated on all festival information and the FSA schedule. It helps users to easily organize their time to attend the screening of movies of their choice as well as engage with other attendees through messaging and public feed updates,” said Rewati Gurung, assistant festival director.
FSA’17, now in its 20th year, will screen 63 documentaries over four days from November 2 to 5. Selected from over 300 submissions, the festival will showcase the best of non-fiction films on Southasia that address contemporary issues in compelling ways.
Of the 63 films, 45 are in the competitive section and will vie for five awards with a net cash prize worth USD $5,500. A jury comprising of Editor/ Publisher Kunda Dixit, filmmaker Farjad Nabi of Pakistan and senior journalist Rajashri Dasgupta of India will select the winners.
This year, the festival features two special sections – one on ‘Student Films’ that has been carried over from FSA’15 and the other on ‘Documentaries of Dissent’. Six films by the next generation of filmmakers will be screened under the student film category. Twelve non-fiction films, either banned or highlighting dissent within the region, will be screened under the ‘Documentaries of Dissent’ section that aims to open up confined media spaces and push the bar on freedom of expression in Southasia.
