Nepali Times
Review
Give me non-fiction!



From 17-20 September in Kathmandu, Film South Asia (FSA) is showcasing 35 south Asian documentaries competing for the Ram Bahadur Trophy. The trophy, named after late Ram Bahadur Tamang (pictured with camera in the FSA logo), is sculpted in bronze by Purna Kaji Shakya. Actress Shabana Azmi will deliver the opening speech.

Tickets are priced at Rs 30 at the Kumari Cinema in Kamalpokhari, but FSA is putting out contribution boxes at the venue for the Ram Bahadur Trust. Donations will go to Sri Bhal Chandra Secondary School in the village of Rayale in Kavre district.

Afghan Girls Can Kick

Afghanistan's first-ever women's football team prepares for competitive international matches, and witnesses Afghanistan change as the harsh, brutally patriarchal Taliban regime gives way to a modern government.

Out of Thin Air

Cinema magnates in the Ladakhi film industry happen to make a living as restaurant workers and cops. Out of Thin Air takes a look at their distinctly unglamorous lives.

The Way of the Road

A plan to connect an ancient Himalayan trade route in remote Rasuwa district, once the site of a Nepal-Tibet war, arouses mixed feelings among indigenous Tamang communities.

In Search of the Riyal

The story of young Nepalis from disadvantaged communities who rush to the Gulf for work but return disillusioned. The film explores a world still obscure mainly because Gulf countries won't open their labour practices to global scrutiny.

Children of God

Many children live off the rituals of death in the cremation grounds at Pashupatinath in Kathmandu. Children of God documents their macabre struggle to stay alive.

Supermen of Malegaon

Inhabitants of the depressed central Indian town of Malegaon take refuge in the fantastical world of cinema, spurring a young group of cinema enthusiasts to make their own quirky films, notably Superman of Malegaon. A small town mirrors India.

Chilika Bank$

In a canvas spread over four decades, a banyan tree on the banks of Lake Chilika whispers tales of the lake and her fisherfolk. Once there was no export bajar, and one day there may no longer be a lake.

Threadbare

The story of the victims of Canada's 'War on Terror': 24 men are falsely accused, imprisoned and deported just for having the word 'Mohammad' in their names.

Machis ko Sinka (Matchstick)

A project that began as a search for the Nepali-Indian identity, Machis Ko Sinka evolved into an attempt to understand the Gorkhaland Movement in Darjeeling and to interpret it for mainland Indians. The film studies the movement's use of violence.

People's Leader

A film about two different periods of Benazir Bhutto's life: her struggle for democracy, and her two stints as prime minister of Pakistan.

Film South Asia 2009 Schedule
HALL A
THU 17-Sep 4PM The Lightning Testimonies (113')
India, 2007, dir - Amar Kanwar
Exploring South Asia's conflicts through sexual violence.
FRI 18-Sep 10AM Mayomi (50')
Sri Lanka, 2008, dir - Carol Salter
Post-tsunami, a woman struggles to hold her
family together.
11.15AM Come to My Country:
Journeys with Kabir and Friends (98')
India, 2008, dir - Shabnam Virmani
Unlikely bonds in the quest for Kabir's 'country'.
2PM Punches n Ponytails (74')
India, 2008, dir - Pankaj Rishi Kumar
Women boxers work through their insecurities.
3.45PM Bhagwan Das: In Pursuit of Ambedkar (61')
India, 2009, dir - S Anand
The Constituent Assembly friend and Ambedkar.
5.15PM Afghan Girls can Kick (50')
Afghanistan, 2007, dir - Bahareh Hosseini
Spunky girls do kick well.
SAT 19-Sep 10AM

Delhi: Work in Progress (38')
India, 2008, dir - Krishnendu Bose
The Commonwealth Games and reinvention.
People's Leader - Last 72 Days (25')
Pakistan, 2008, dir - Nargis Hashmi
The climax of Benazir Bhutto's eventful life.

11.15AM

The Last Rites (17')
Bangladesh, 2008, dir - Yasmine Kabir
Where the ships go to die.
The Forgotten Refugees (45')
Nepal/Bhutan, 2009, dir - Amanda Burrell
The Lhotshampa go overseas.

12.30PM Children of the Pyre (74')
India, 2008, dir - Rajesh S Jala
The kids of Benaras' Manikarnika ghat.
2.15PM Out of Thin Air (50')
India, 2009, dir - Samreen Farooqui & Shabani Hassanwalia A peep into Ladakh's film industry.
3.30PM Threadbare (40')
Canada/Pakistan, 2008, dir - Arshad Khan
Simply the name 'Mohammad' gets 24 arrested in Canada.
4.30PM In Search of the Riyal (86')
Nepal, 2009, dir - Kesang Tseten
Study of Nepali migrants in the Gulf.
SUN 20-Sep 10AM All the World's a Stage (60')
India, 2008, dir - Nirmal Chander
Sufi performers, the Sidi Goma ponder modernity.
11.30AM Encountered on Saffron Agenda? (90')
India, 2007, dir - Shubhradeep Chakravorty
Gujarat adopts encounter killings; minorities victimised.
1.30PM Children of God (89')
Nepal, 2008, dir - Yi Seung-jun
The kids of Aryaghat.
3.30PM Forever Young (78')
India, 2008, dir - Ranjan Palit
Shillong's Lou Majaw on Bob Dylan's birthday.
HALL B
THU 17-Sep 3.30PM Chilika Bank$ (60')
India, 2008, dir - Akanksha Joshi
The Banyan and Chilika Lake's forgotten history.
5PM Saamam (The Music) (42')
India, 2009, dir - Ramachandran K
Homage to Carnatic music legend M D Ramanathan.
FRI 18-Sep 9.30AM Leaving Home - The Life and Music of Indian Ocean (114')
India, 2008, dir - Jaideep Varma
Understanding the musicians behind IO.
12PM The Battle for Pakistan (40')
Pakistan, 2009, dir - Maheen Zia
Where do extremism and madrasas converge in Pakistan?
1.30PM The Promised Land (90')
Bangladesh, 2008, dir - Tanvir Mokammel
Stigma still haunts Bangladesh's 'Biharis'.
3.30PM Flying on One Engine (51')
India/USA, 2008, dir - Joshua Weinstein
Ailing, eccentric Brooklyn doctor helps India's cleft-lipped.
5PM Shores Far Away (49')
India, 2007, dir - Savyasaachi Jain
Migrants attempt to smuggle themselves into Europe.
SAT 19-Sep 10AM Our Family (56')
India, 2007, dir - Anjali Monteiro/ K P Jayasankar
Three transgender women speak to you.
11.30AM The Legend of Shiva and Parvati (85')
India/Germany, 2008, dir - Krishna Saraswati
The hippie girl and the yogi of India.
1.30PM Supermen of Malegaon (79')
India, 2008, dir - Faiza Ahmad Khan
Small-town churns out hilarious Hollywood spoof.
3.15PM The Salt Stories (84')
India, 2008, dir - Lalit Vachani
Following Gandhi's salt march in our time.
5PM

Morality TV and the Loving Jehad: A Thrilling Tale (31')
India, 2008, dir - Paromita Vohra
Inside India's breaking news' industry.
Machis Ko Sinka (Matchstick) (11')
India, 2008, dir - Radhamohini Prasad
The pro- and anti- violence arguments of Gorkhaland.

SUN 20-Sep 11AM The Way of the Road (60')
Nepal, 2009, dir - Ben Campbell & Cosmo Campbell
Will the Rasuwa Nepal-Tibet road help villagers?
12.30PM In the Market Stands Kabir:
Journeys with Sacred & Secular Kabir (94')
India, 2008, dir - Shabnam Virmani
The spiritual Kabir reconciled with the secular.
2.30PM Temples in the Clouds (56')
India, 2008, dir - Jim Mallinson & Chicoo Patuzzi
Paragliding pilgrimage to Himachal's Chamunda temple.
4PM Super 30 (59')
India, 2008, dir - Christopher Mitchell
Poor kids with math shoot for IIT.


LATEST ISSUE
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(11 JAN 2013 - 17 JAN 2013)


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