The Bhaktapur Film Festival will take place at the National Vocational Academy in Bhaktapur on March 20 and 21. It is organised by a group of young filmmakers from Bhaktapur, including Kiran Kilambu, Safal Vaidya, Smit Giri, Bikesh Prajapati, Saksham KC, and Prabin Takki.

Through this initiative, director Kiran Kilambu seeks to promote Bhaktapur’s art and literature while offering a platform for emerging filmmakers. “We are hosting this festival for the first time in Bhaktapur with the goal of nurturing local culture and art,” Kilambu said.

Festival coordinator Smit Giri says, “We have organised this festival to offer a platform for independent filmmakers while also aiming to boost cinema literacy.” Alongside Giri, Safal Vaidya, a film graduate from Everest Academy, also serves as the festival coordinator.

The two-day festival will showcase 24 films, starting with Naveen Subba’s ‘Gaun Aayeko Bato.’ Alongside this, the event includes a variety of films, including Sujit Bidari’s ‘Aina Jhyalko Putali’, Ankit Poudel’s ‘Song of Clouds’, Kiran Shrestha’s ‘At Another Winter’, and the documentary ‘Dhorpatan’ by Rajan Kathet and Sunir Pandey.

Sandesh Bhurtel’s ‘Mother Rebecca’ will be the closing film. Additionally, two films exploring Newa culture, ‘Kija Puja’ and ‘Newa Buddhism in Nepal’, are also being screened.

Filmmaker Keshab Pandey will also be facilitating a workshop ‘Fundamental of stories’. On March 14, the organisers are organising a heritage walk in Bhaktapur in collaboration with Rushel Shilpakar.

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Bhaktapur Film Festival

When: March 20 and 21

Where: National Vocational Academy, Bhaktapur

Time: 10:30 am to 5:30 pm

Entry: Free