Something Like a Film Festival (SLFF) kicked off yesterday in Kathmandu. Bringing together 40 short films under 30 minutes, made mostly by young and debutant filmmakers, the 2026 edition of SLFF will take place at Airavat Picture House from 2:00 pm onwards each day, until June 29.

Tracing its history to 2011, when it was first presented as an alternative platform for cinema networking and project development for non-mainstream filmmakers, this edition of the festival includes 13 films by Nepali filmmakers, almost all of which are by debutant/first-time directors.

With the opening film, ‘I listen for the Sound of Ashes’ by Mihir Pyakurel, and the closing film, ‘Bus to Bagbazar’ by Nishit Thapa, both of which are debut projects, Nepali filmmakers including Ngima Gelu Lama, Deepa Shrestha, Bhagirathi Pandit, Prashant Pun Magar, Samagra Shah, Shishir Wanem and Nobel Adhikari are being presented.

The festival has been divided into three segments: environmental films, local Nepali cinema, queer films and animations/ student films.

“SLFF was envisioned to also overcome the thought barrier of the festival as a film screening venue—encouraging instead networking and professional support catered to young filmmakers,” says Kshitiz Adhiraj, the founder director of Docskool and the artistic supervisor for ‘Something Like a Film Festival’. “These ventures have all branched out to stimulate new growth for young filmmakers beyond the festival’s limitations.”

SLFF ’26, held by Docskool, is presenting this year's programming in partnership with the LGBTQ Film Festival Ljubljana, showcasing queer films from Slovenia, Green Hub India for the presentation of environmental films and several film schools from Iran, Singapore, Georgia, and Poland, among others. A selection of animated shorts will also be shown on June 29.

“This year we are most excited by our new programming partnerships and our new home—the Airavat Picture House micro cinema,” adds Adhiraj.

Something Like a Film Festival

When: June 26 to 29

Where: Airavat Picture House, Thapathali

Time: 2:00 pm onwards

Entry: Rs200