People are staying indoors as the Nepal government has locked down to control the risk of the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic. Staying indoors for a long time can be boring. You might have used various methods to make this lockdown productive like watching movies, web series or reading books. And here is a list of Nepali documentaries we recommend, which narrate the story of Nepali society and these documentaries have also garnered much appreciation along with international awards in various film festivals:

Who Will Be a Gurkha

Kesang Tseten is a one of the celebrated documentary filmmakers who has introduced Nepal through his documentaries. He has directed more than a dozen documentaries depicting every facet of Nepali society. 'Who Will Be Gorkha’ is no exception where he depicts the struggle of thousands of Nepali youngsters who compete to be the part of British Army. It has screened at several national and international film festivals and also bagged numerous awards; First Prize and Audience Award at Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival.

Journey to Yarsa (Himalayan Gold)

Produced and directed by Dipendra Bhandari, ‘Journey to Yarsha’ shows the journey of people who went to the high Himalayan region in quest of collecting yarsagumba, a caterpillar fungus known for its purported aphrodisiac properties. The documentary garnered appreciation at national and international level and also received awards and honors in various film festivals.

The Korean Dream

 Ashok Thapa directorial ‘The Korean Dream’ shows the struggle of being immigrant laborers in South Korea, through Nepali labor named Minu. Moreover, it captured how the government violated human rights toward those immigrant laborers by forcefully deporting them and taking them under detention. The documentary has won several notable awards including Aljazeera International Documentary Film Festival, Qatar – Jury Award, 2013, Baghdad International Film Festival, Iraq – Appreciation Award, 2013, Canada International Film Festival, Canada – Rising Award, 2014, Canada International Film Festival, Canada – Rising Award, 2014 among others.

Greater Nepal In Quest Of Boundary

Manoj Pandit who has raised various burning issues in feature movies like ‘Dasdhunga’ and ‘Badhshala’, has directed ‘Greater Nepal In Quest Of Boundary’ too. Pandit has highlighted how India has illegally occupied the land of Nepal that legally belongs to Nepal, through the documentary whose length is  more than one-hour long.

Sunakali

Sunakali is a documentary that has represented Nepal in various international countries. This documentary covers the story of girls struggling to play football in remote and Himalayan district, Mugu. The documentary, which was produced and directed by journalist Bhojraj Bhat, has been exhibited in more than 500 places in different countries including Europe and won many international awards.