Shabana Azmi to attend Kathmandu Film Festival, October 30 to November 1

Kathmandu Metropolitan City will hold the Kathmandu Film Festival from October 30 to November 1 (Kartik 13 to 15), with screenings of Nepali and foreign films, discussions, masterclasses, heritage walks and an award ceremony, the city announced at a press conference on Tuesday, according to Onlinekhabar and Setopati. All films will be free to watch, Reporters Nepal reported.

Kathmandu was recognised as a UNESCO Creative City of Film in November 2023, after which the city committed to holding an international film festival, acting chief Sunita Dangol said. "We did not take the recognition from UNESCO only as an award; we took it as a responsibility," she said, adding that the festival aims to document Kathmandu's culture, traditions and heritage on film for future generations, Setopati reported.

Guests and programme

Indian actress Shabana Azmi will take part in a conversation at the Nepal Tourism Board on October 31. The same day, Japanese director Takayuki Nakamura will give a presentation at the National Assembly Hall on Yamagata, Japan's UNESCO Creative City of Film, festival director Aayusha Shrestha said. Marco Müller, a professor at the Shanghai Film Academy's film arts research centre, will give a masterclass on November 1, and Indian film programmer Deepti D'Cunha will also take part, according to Setopati.

International films will be screened at Jai Nepal Hall. Under the "Nepal Panorama Shorts" section, 10 films by emerging local filmmakers were selected from 75 submitted to the city's open call, and each will receive an incentive award of Rs 100,000. The festival will also show the classic Nepali films "Kumari" and "Ke Ghar Ke Dera", and close on November 1 with a red-carpet event at the National Assembly Hall.

A run before the festival

Ahead of the festival, the city and the NSR Sports Foundation held a 10-kilometre Heritage Run starting and finishing at Basantapur on October 25, Neplays reported. Kritika Hyaumikha won the women's race in 51 minutes 58.5 seconds and Salman Sheikh the men's in 38 minutes 56 seconds. Presenting the prizes, Dangol said the run was meant to show the city's heritage and encourage a culture of walking.