The 23rd edition of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) wrapped up on Sunday, bringing to a close five days of cinema, conversations, and cultural exchange.

In the international category, the award for Best Feature Documentary was presented to ‘The Oldest Munro Bagger’, which received a cash prize of $1500, while ‘The Anti Expedition’ won the Best Short Documentary, winning $1000. In the fiction category, ‘Ha Lyngkha Bneng’ (The Elysian Field) was awarded Best Feature Fiction, winning a cash prize of $1500 and ‘Ali’ won Best Short Fiction with a cash prize of $1000.

The Nepal Panorama section had its own set of awardees. The Best Documentary was awarded to ‘My Mom is a Bodybuilder’, while the best fiction went to ‘Saanjhakaa Rangaharu’. The films received a cash prize of Rs100,000 each.

The section was judged by a jury comprising the Cultural & Communication Coordinator at Alliance Française Kathmandu, Lucie De Barros (France), filmmaker Nabin Chauhan (Nepal), and film journalist and critic Reena Moktan (Nepal).

The Audience Award worth Rs100,000 went to ‘Climbing for Life’, a film based on the life of Junko Tabei (the first woman to climb Everest), directed by the acclaimed Japanese director Sakamoto Junji.

It was KIMFF’s 23rd iteration this year, and the festival opened with the Nepal Premiere of ‘Shape of Momo’ by Tribeny Rai. Among the highlights this year were a special screening of ‘Climbing for Life’, along with a series of conversations on cinema and censorship, and the evolving landscape of Nepali filmmaking.