What better way to celebrate the International Day of Mountains than with a film festival dedicated to the mountains and their people? On 11 December, the
Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF), now in its 11th year, made a grand comeback to the Valley with an eclectic offering of 47 documentaries, animation, short films, and experimental films.
The films were picked by a panel of eight judges from a pool of 290 submissions from 20 countries and like the previous editions they will focus on a diverse range of subjects: adventure, climbing, conflict, culture, poverty and development, gender, globalisation and migration, and celebration of the human spirit.
Festival director Ramyata Limbu is pleased by the increased number of submissions - 55 in total - from young, talented Nepali directors and writers, but says there is ample room for improvement. “Local filmmakers are more drawn towards non-fiction films rather than documentaries,” she explains. “The few documentaries that are made lack research and a deeper understanding of the subject matter.”
Sixteen films will be screened in the International Competition category and judged by a jury comprising of Nepali sociologist Dyuti Baral, UK journalist and climber Stephen Goodwin, and Swiss filmmaker Roger Brunner. The Nepali Panorama category has seven participants.
Other events include an audiovisual presentation on the Great Himalayan Trail by German travel writer Gerda Pauler who walked the route in 2012 and a short film competition called ‘We are all connected’ which allows filmmakers to express their relationship with the natural world.
Visitors can also take part in numerous panel discussions on helicopter rescue, railways, challenges of mountain tourism as well as an exhibition of photos taken by the late Swiss geologist Tony Hagen.
www.kimff.org
11-15 December
City Hall, Exhibition Road
(01)4440635