Kathmandu, May 29
The 21st edition of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff) is all set to begin on Wednesday (May 29) at Sabha Griha (City Hall) and Nepal Tourism Board. The festival will run through June 2. The festival will feature over 60 films from 22 countries in this edition.
Organised by the Kimff Foundation and co-hosted by Kathmandu Metropolitan City, Kimff 2024 will include diverse and compelling stories under the festival tagline ‘’Echoes of Change”.
While Kimff’s international programme includes documentaries, fiction, shorts, and experimental films, its Nepal Panorama section will once again showcase films by local talent that spotlight stories about contemporary Nepal.
“We hope the festival through its line-up of films and events will entertain audiences and engage them in critical conversations around issues that affect the Nepali public,” says festival director Ramyata Limbu.
Kimff 2024 will open with the Asia Premiere of The Tiger’s Nest, a film by Italian director Brando Quilichi. Filmed on location in Nepal, the film is about a young boy who embarks on an adventure across the country to save a tiger’s cub from poachers.
Kimff 2024 will celebrate the centennial year of pioneering attempts on Everest with a film screening and photo exhibition Everest – Revisited 1924-2024.
Kimff will celebrate 50 years of Nepal- Korea friendship with a special screening of films from Ulju Mountain Film Festival Korea that reflect similarities between the two countries despite differences in language and culture.
The Kimff 2024 jury comprises director/producer Dina Mufti (UK), anthropologist Suresh Dhakal (Nepal), and film editor Regina Baertschi (Switzerland). The jury will decide the Best Film in the international category of feature fiction (3 shortlisted), feature documentary (11 shortlisted), short fiction (7 shortlisted) and short documentary (7 shortlisted), and, best documentary (13 shortlisted) and best fiction (16 Shortlisted) in Nepal Panorama section.
In the international category, the prizes are $ 1500 for best feature documentary, $ 1000 for best short documentary, $ 1500 for best feature fiction and $ 1000 for best short fiction. The best documentary and best fiction film in Nepal Panorama will receive Rs. 100,000 each respectively. The Audience Award is Rs. 100,000.
In the presence of filmmakers, film enthusiasts, critics, scholars, journalists, artists and mountaineers, Kimff will include discussion forums, guest lectures, exhibitions of books and photos and installation art projects.
Kimff will present “Mountains Matter – A Call from the Himalayas” which is a Storytellers event and a panel on “Women Behind the Camera” with the US Embassy’s Public Affairs Department; “Championing Young Filmmakers” – screenings, panel discussions and an interactive exhibition on filmmaking with the British Council, and, a Cut.Katha Pitch for Nepali documentaries with Kathaharu.
Festival highlights include an Edit Lab for Nepali fiction and non-fiction projects supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC).
Kimff 2024 is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC), the British Council, the US Embassy, the Film Development Board (FDB), the Nepal Mountaineering Association (NMA), Mila Productions, Pasang Lhamu Foundation, Daya Foundation, Voices of Women Media (VoW), Contemporary Art of Nepal Foundation, Toni Hagen Foundation, Bagmati Communications Registrar, Himalaya International Mountain Film of China (HIMF), GIZ, WWF, ICIMOD, North Face Nepal, Sonam, KTM City. The festival is promoted by the Nepal Tourism Board.
Tickets and season passes are available at Khalti. Tickets are Rs 150 for the general public and Rs 100 for students.
