British (And Other Foreign) Film Festival in Kathmandu

Kathmandu sees many foreign language film festivals, not just Bollywood and Hollywood flicks.

One after another, it’s now time for British Film Festival in Kathmandu. The sixth edition of the yearly event was inaugurated by the British Ambassador Andrew Hall yesterday evening in Gopi Krishna Cinema Hall. Over the past several years, we have seen many language-based film festivals that are organized either by the foreign embassies in Kathmandu or non governmental organizations that have gotten some kind of assistance from those missions. Those festivals are primarily targeted to the learners of the related language. “Our main target audiences are young learners, students and young professionals along with a wide range of senior officials,” states a press release issued by the British Council, the organizer of the British film festival in Nepal. The festival will go to Pokhara at the end of this month.

I was talking about the waves of foreign film festivals in Nepal. I recently attended French film festival and, before that, Spanish film festival. Kathmandu also sees Chinese film festival. The market here in Nepal is overwhelmingly dominated by Bollywood (Hindi) and Hollywood films. Films from these two groups are so much popular that people stand in queue to get tickets for the shows. With that craze in background, some people might think Nepal doesn’t see Indian film festival and American film festival. That would be wrong. Even Indian embassy and American mission do organize Indian film festival and American Film festival. We can see alternate films from those big industries. Indian embassy organized a traveling film festival last year, I think, screening old films while American Center organized a month-long screening of many rarely heard American films several months ago in Kathmandu. Theaters in Kathmandu.

These festivals are definitely useful for the young crowd in Kathmandu who will get opportunity to explore into different cinematic worlds that are not available in mainstream film market in Nepal. For instance, I couldn’t have seen a film like Merry Christmas (Joyeux Noël, photo) in any theater in Kathmandu if there was no British film festival organized. I enjoyed the oscar nominated anti-war moive on the inauguration day of the festival yesterday as I was there to report the event. The British Council press release further states, “We feel that film festival is an extremely effective way of enabling large numbers of predominantly young, educated people to widen their views of the world and, in this case, provide them with vivid impressions of modern Britain.”

If anyone is reading this and is interested in attending the festival (which is free of cost), feel free to visit the Council reception in Lainchaur to collect the ticket. Because I am a reporter, I already got a few from the Council.


12 thoughts on “British (And Other Foreign) Film Festival in Kathmandu

  1. Munu

    These film festivals are doing a great job for the transmission of cultural traits from one place to another. This diffusion is the way by which innovation spreads. And I believe cultural diffusion through any means , whether its by cinema or any other means, is a kind of process of cultural evolution.

    Otherwise everyone knows main stream cinema or commercial movies of Holly, Bolly, Kolly (Dyness, yahi naam haina hamro cinema sansarko?) or any other wood,these days are like loollipops (tastes sweet till you lick.Once it dissolves in your mouth. you will forget how it was like). Yasto khaderiko mausam ma lets welcome this cultural evolution!

    Tara ticket free of cost bhayera ke garnu, show rati paryo! Tyati raati, tyo pani yasto chill mausam ma, audience lai hall samma puryauna ali garai parla, Haina ra?

    Tara sayad Dynessji ta sabai showma present bhaidinuhuncha hola

    Hmm… Now I really need to borrow your very own famous and favorite quote “Njoy!”.

    N i am going to miss those cinema elements… sentiment, romance, music, ballad, fable, fantasy, betrayal, riots, constancy, redundancy……….. euta complete cinemama ke ke ingredients huncha ti sabai…….

    Take care


  2. Walge :)


    &gt;&gt;&gt; Munu, you spoke my mind. I think organizers like British Council must realize that the screening time (6:30 PM) is a bit too late for many possible audiences who don’t have big Pajeros and Land cruisers or Hero Honda/Bajaj motorcycles. By the time the show is over, you will not see any public vehicles playing on the streets. So you have to spend loads of money in taxi fare or avoid going to the festival al together. I had to spend Rs. 100 for the cab fare to reach my office at Tinkune from Chahabil because there were no public vehicles and I don’t have motorcycle or car.

    I think this problem is with British film festival only. I didn’t attend yesterday’s screening and I am not attending today’s as well though I really missed yesterday’s Hotel Rwanda. I think it would be better if the organizers change the timing of the screening so that more and more interested people could attend the shows. If that means the theater will charge them, why not charge the audiences for tickets. Charging Rs. 20 or 30 for entrance will be not that bad.


  3. Munu

    Dear Rajji,
    U, me and Dyness, all don;t have big pajero, landcruiser and herohonda, but at least u had a friend with a bike to take u there and Dyness rich enough to pay Rs 100 as taxi fare.But what about those who don’t have any? Neither pajero, nor a friend with a bike, nor a taxi fare. Now say who is the poorest of all? U, me or Dyness?

    Well, Well, Well and if you are the same Raj Shrestha of photozbyraj, i must say Congratulations on the job well done!


  4. Munu

    The nightmare of the film festival is when the audience does not turn up and the invitee journalists, media person, I suppose, hardly catch the show. Ya, it is to their odd timing that the organisers not able to bring an audience.
    It cannot be, just cannot be, that people were not interested. Obviously, the fault lies with the organisers alone. What a waste! A good idea but badly executed.
    So, the poorest of all is the organiser. Not Rajji, Dyness or I. Surely not. Haina ta?
    Lets hope they got the message through.


Munuलाई जवाफ दिनुहोस् जवाफ रद्द गर्नुहोस्


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