The films to be showcased have been selected by the KIMFF committee which included Alok Tumbahamphe, Cheteze Tamang, Kamal Khanal, Kshitiz Adhiraj, Manesh Shrestha, Rajesh Gongaju, Ramyata Limbu, Reshu Aryal, Viplob Pratik and Yubakar Rajkarnikar.[break]
There are 20 films competing in International Competition category while 35 films are being screened in the non-competitive category, and six films by Nepali filmmakers will be showcased under the Nepal Panorama category.
The top three in the International Competition will receive US$1,500, $1,000, and $500 respectively. The best film in the Nepali Panorama Category will receive Rs 25,000.
A perfect platform for independent filmmakers, the festival is aimed at exploring the relationship between mountains and societies. It showcases films that reflect the lifestyle of high-altitude human inhabitants, and aims to promote human experiences through films.
But besides these themes, the festival also presents a mixture of other socio-cultural issues. Kamal Khanal, festival director agrees and says that KIMFF has now slightly diversified from purely mountains to much more.
“KIMFF 2010 brings a separate category of films- Development and Livelihood, which was not present in earlier festivals.” Khanal also informs that the theme for this year’s festival is “Cultural Diversity” and “Migration and Biodiversity”.
Director Murray Kerr of the 75-minute film, “Birami Sahar” (Sick City), which will be screened today at 5:30 pm, mentions that Nepali filmmaking has gone through a digital revolution in the past couple of years, and he is happy to be a part of this movement of self-expression through films as the media.
“The number of Nepali film entries has also drastically increased from 16 in 2009 to 35 in 2010,” says Khanal.
“A little Bit Mongolian,” a 55-minute documentary by Michael Dillion, will be the curtain raiser to the festival, starting at 2 pm. “The Small Kingdom of Lo,” a film by Caroline Leitner, Daniel Mazza and Giuseppe Tedeschi will also be screened at 4pm. Rashtriya Sabha Griha and Nepal Tourism Board, both on Exhibition Road, have been selected as the screening venues.
British climber and author Terry Gifford, Chinese filmmaker Li Wenming, and Norwegian resident British climber David Durkan complete the three-member international jury team who will be judging films in the International Competition category.
Other highlights include a photo exhibition, “Manang: 30 Years After” by Czech photographers, the father and son duo Michal Thoma and Zdenek Thoma at Rashtriya Sabha Griha, and Filmmaking workshop by Docskool.
Tickets are priced at Rs. 30 each, with 50% discount available for students.
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