Not only does he make a good movie, but enter Cannes Film Festival as well.
“Threshold”, his first attempt in filmmaking, deals with the reprise of the societal condition of women living in rural Nepal. But what gives this recurring theme a different touch is the subtle use of conceits and metaphors to unveil in his cinematic artistry. Pani Puri had never been filmed so poignantly!
It hardly seems a shock to know that “Threshold” won accolades at the home country. The movie has been faring just reviews internationally as well. At Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) last year, Rauniyar competed in the international category, unlike his Nepali counterparts who vied in the national, and won himself a third prize. And now, Rauniyar’s cinematic poetry has been selected in non-competitive category at the 62nd Cannes Film Festival, the holy ground for filmmakers all over the world, a first for any Nepali film or filmmaker.
“It was merely an attempt for me to practice my skills and capture my childhood memory of the story of my sister-in-law, that I witnessed”, says Rauniyar who was brought up in the chauvinistic society of Udaypur in madhes. “And I am kind of shocked to see the overwhelming response that my unpolished attempt is receiving”.
Produced in few weeks under the budget of hundred thousand rupees, Rauniyar modestly proclaims that the filming of the movie was not a difficult task. “I did not face much hurdles,” he said. For him, releasing the movie proved to be more of a snag.
Rauniyar feels that movie-making is “an art just like any other forms of it and censoring the art is piercing his heart through his soul. “The idea of alternate and independent filmmaking inside the head of the officials at the Film Development Board is still proving to be an ardent task,” says Rauniyar with a certain tinge of angst.
Shot with two H.D. (High Definition) digital camcorders, the dialogues in the movie were mostly improvised and scenes completed in lengthy single takes. “Dialogues tend to wither away the pragmatism and as most of our actors were theatre performers, it was natural to have a shot in an unconventional way”, he explains.
“But lots of improvisation meant days of tiring editing. And I still haven’t finished editing it to pitch perfection.”
For Rauniyar who started off as a journalist and a movie critic, filmmaking was something he had never fathomed of. “I had never watched English films and was limited to watching the ho-hum cinemas from the Nepali film industry. It was only after meeting Tshering Rhitar Sherpa and Nabin Subba that I got interested and tried to hone my amateur skills of filmmaking”.He then soon got the opportunity to work as an Assistant Director on Tsering Rhitar Sherpa’s “Karma” and got to edit nine episodes of Nabin Subba’s TV series “Dalan”. “But it was working with the BBC Trust Fund while the production of Katha Meetho Sarangiko, a Nepali-language radio drama that gave me the essential skills to approach filmmaking”.
The radio drama series is at present one of the best non-English radio programs among the 36 international stations of the BBC. Kaatha Meetho Sarangiko also won the prestigious “Global Reith Award” last year, making it the first non-English language program to ever win it.
Had it been anybody else, they would be flying in the air if their movie was selected for Cannes, but modest Rauniyar humbly declares, “I have lots of imperfections in this film and I can’t say that I am completely satisfied with it”.
When asked when he would be flying off to Cannes, he mirthfully concludes, “I have to really think if it is worth spending hundreds of thousands of rupees to attend a festival where your movie is only selected for the non-competitive category.”
But then again, how many times does a film-maker get to hobnob with the brightest of the bright in the international movie industry?
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