KIMFF bids adieu until next year

KATHMANDU, Dec 20: The 15th edition of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) came to an end on Monday at QFX Kumari, Kamalpokhari, after the screening of more than 70 movies celebrating the beauty, hardship and lives of people in the mountains across the globe.

Among 14 films in the competitive section, ‘Dhaulagiri, Ascent to The White Mountain’ by Guillermo Glass won the first prize, ‘Sherpa Stew’ by Andy Cockrum won the second prize and ‘Singing with Angry Birds’ by Hyewon Jee won the third prize. The top three films were awarded with USD 1,500, USD 1,000 and USD 500 respectively.

Similarly, in the Nepal Panorama section, ‘Jha Lo (Year of the Bird)’ by Shenang Gyamjo Tamang got a special mention from the jury while ‘Jaalgedi (A Curious Girl)’ by Rajesh Prasad Khatri won the Best Film in the fiction category along with a cash prize of Rs 75,000. ‘Gyalmu’s House’ by Ashmita Shirish and Gavin Carver won the Best Film award under the documentary section along with a cash prize of Rs 50,000.

A jury comprising Festival Director for Banff Mountain Film Festival, Joanna Croston, from Canada, filmmaker Kesang Tseten from Nepal, and filmmaker/editor Reena Mohan from India selected the winners.

Meanwhile, ‘Kahan Kaa Raasta (At The Crossroads)’ by Savyasachi Anju Prabir was awarded with USD 1,000 and the title ‘Best ICIMOD Mountain Film Award’ by International Center for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD). Based on popularity, KIMFF's Audience Award Trophy went to ‘The Last Honey Hunter’ by Ben Knight with maximum votes from the audience. Also, the Film Critics Society of Nepal awarded the Best Film to ‘Blood Road’ by Nicholas Schrunk under the competitive section. The jury members from the film society included Samipya Raj Timalsena, Pravakar Gautam and Sajana Baral.

In the closing ceremony, KIMFF’s Chair Basanta Thapa thanked and expressed his gratitude toward everyone who worked and made the five-day event successful. In his closing remarks, he also announced to come back next year with more films and stories.

The closing ceremony was followed by a screening of ‘Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait’ by Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rimpoche.

With the sound of KIMFF gong reverberating through the hall, the annual festival had kicked off on Thursday. It was organized by Himal Association and promoted by Nepal Tourism Board.

Films including different documentaries, fiction, shorts, experimental films and animation from 37 countries were screened at KIMFF this year. The stories were based on adventure sports, mountaineering, lost cultures, migration, ancient lifestyles and burning social, environmental and conservational issues that affect the highland communities worldwide, and were screened under competitive, non-competitive and Nepal Panorama sections.

On the sidelines of the film screening, KIMFF also organized the KIMFF Doc Pitch program, the very first live pitch program in KIMFF’s history, where documentary filmmakers got the platform to showcase their films amid a panel of international and local film experts. One of the documentary filmmakers, Rewati Gurung, was lauded for her movie ‘Monkey Business’.

Also, as a part of the festival, jury member Reena Mohan gave a presentation on editing documentary films at the Russian Center of Science and Culture, Kamalpokhari, while British director Mike Day gave a master class for filmmakers with a special screening of his documentary ‘The Islands and The Whales’ at Islington College, Kamalpokhari.