Hot on the heels of Film South Asia comes the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff). Now in its fifth year, the festival will be showing 52 films from 20 countries, with 26 of them in competition for the Kimff trophy.

The festival will focus on the devastating effects of global warming on the environment, with features on conflict, culture, climbing, wildlife, globalisation, gender and lifestyle. An international jury chaired by Danish director Per Fly will select the top three films, and one film will receive an award based on audience voting.

During the festival, Fly will conduct a film making workshop and Kunda Dixit will test audiences in a 'Know Your Himal' quiz. There will also be a photo competition on peace-building and reconciliation in Nepal, and lectures and slideshows about the effects of global warming on the Himalayas and Nepal's wildlife.

Kimff is organised by the Himal Association and will take place on 7-11 December at the Rastriya Sabha Griha and the Nepal Tourism Board.

For Those About to Rock, 8 December, 3.15 PM, Rastriya Sabha Griha Nepali amateur rock bands vie for a spot in a competitive rock competition. This film follows the energetic teenagers and their love and passion for the music they play. A reflection on young urban Nepalis, the film also pictures the ethics of the music scene and its place in Nepali society.

Afghan Muscles, 8 December, 5.15 PM, Rastriya Sabha Griha
Afghan men have discovered the art of bodybuilding. This documentary follows bodybuilder Hamid's heroic struggle to gather food and proteins in an effort to win the championship and create a better life for himself.

Blowing Up Paradise, 8 December, 5.15 PM, Nepal Tourism Board
For 30 years, the idyllic Moruroa atoll in French Polynesia was used as a site for France's nuclear tests. Blowing Up Paradise uses archival footage to chronicle France's explosion of various nuclear devices, in violation of the international test ban treaty, from the first test in 1966 to the last in 1996.

Rain in a Dry Land, 10 December, 5.45 PM, Nepal Tourism Board
Rain in a Dry Land follows two families in their transition from Somalian refugees to underclass Americans. The documentary sheds light on a little-known stratum of American society as well as on the plight of the African emigrant.

Siachen: A War for Ice, 10 December, 4.30 PM, Nepal Tourism Board
A documentary about the soldiers involved in the world's highest and most absurd war - a 20-year conflict for control over a few hundred square kilometres of glacier and frozen rock at the extreme northern end of the Indian-Pakistani border.

Angnima Sherpa: The Icefall Doctor, 11 December, 11AM, Nepal Tourism Board
This documentary explores the life of Angnima Sherpa, who has been working below the Khumbu Icefall since 1975, providing medical services to mountaineers seeking to climb Everest from the Nepali side. As always, Angnima and his team are the first to reach base camp each season and the last to leave.

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