The sixth edition of Nepal Human Rights Film Festival kicked off on Wednesday, March 7, at Nepal Tourism Board in Bhrikutimandap, in the Capital. The four-day fest, themed Women Empowerment, will host the staging of 71 films from 30 countries; out of which 20 films are from Nepal. 

The fest started with the screening of the documentary film Even When I Fall. Co-directed by Sky Neal and Kate McLarnon, the film tells the story of two teenagers, Sheetal and Saraswoti, the survivors of child trafickking. Tracing their journey of over six years, the film portrays the duo’s struggle despite all odds and about how they went on to found Circus Kathmandu, along with 11 other circus artists. Being screened at the festival are all kinds of films irrespective of their genre or running time; notables among them include Children of the Snow Land, Ruwa, Dust, Threads of Hope, The Curious Case of Mister Bhim Thapa, Save Gangamaya, Desh Khojdai Jaanda, and Jalgedi. 

Saroj Sapkota, coordinator of the fest’s film selection committee, which selected 71 films from over 1200 submissions, said that a majority of films featured at the fest are either made by women or feature issues relating to women empowerment and human rights. The screened films will be ranked and four films will be awarded under the categories—Jury Award; Best Fiction Film (Nepali); Best Fiction Film (foreign); and Best Documentary—each carrying a cash purse of NRs 40,000. 

The second day of the fest, on Thursday, will see a panel discussion on the topic ‘Performance of Women in Nepali Cinema’; the panel comprises of Suchitra Shrestha, chair of Film Association Nepal, actress Diya Maskey, and Bhumika Shrestha, who will represent the voice of gender minoirities.