TRAS - 2006 Nepali Film Festival

TRAS, the Nepal Cultural Society of BC, and Langara College Continuing Studies are co-sponsoring Vancouver's first Nepali Film Festival! It will be held at Langara College on Sunday, April 9, 2006.

Press release (Microsoft Word)

Our co-sponsors:

Founded in 1999, the Nepal Cultural Society of BC preserves and promotes Nepali identity and culture amongst residents in BC, builds cooperation, goodwill and mutual support among Nepali British Columbians and assists in human development activities in Nepal.

Langara College Continuing Studies is dedicated to lifelong learning and public service through education. Collaborative programs with community organizations further enrich the learning environment of the College and the community's understanding of public issues that affect society.

If you have any questions about the film festival, please e-mail us at nepalifilmfest@yahoo.ca.

The films

Please note that these films are not suitable for children.

1. Andolan Jaari Chha (English Title: The Struggle Continues; Dir: Anonymous; 23 min). The Struggle Continues is an investigative documentary about the ongoing street-level public protests in Nepal and the ways that the agitators are being clamped down on by the forces in power. The film was taken by hidden cameras and includes unedited on the ground footage of the popular unrest in Nepal. In the current climate where the government has been censoring media and imprisoning journalists, the makers of this film need to remain anonymous.

2. Numafung (Dir: Nabin Subba, 108 min). Numafung is a feature film that explores the intersection between gender and cultural politics in Nepal within the changing socio-economic framework of the country. Specifically, it is about a Limbu woman, named Numafung (which means beautiful flower in Lepcha language), attempting to negotiate her own grounding within highly binding, patriarchical traditions and dizzyingly rapid modernizing processes. Numa represents todays Nepali womantorn between duty and self, the desire to achieve many things that her spirit desires but shackled by the rituals and norms of society. Ironically, the more sophisticated the society, the more modern Nepali woman is shackled to the notion of upholding family name and honour (Rechin Yonzan, Nepali Times). Limbus are an ethnic minority of Nepal that reside primarily in the eastern parts of Nepal.

This is Nabin Subbas first feature film. Also, Nabin is one of the first Nepali filmmakers from an ethnic minority background. Himself a Limbu, Nabin weaves a poignant tale of young Limbu womans effort to make sense of her life caught between tradition and change. Nabin is currently working on a new film about youth in Kathmandu.

3. Preview of Dashain 2005 - A Glimpse of Nepali Culture in Vancouver (Produced by Mani Ghale; 15 minutes). The fifteen-day Dashain celebration is the longest and the most auspicious festival in the Nepali annual calendar, celebrated by Nepalis throughout Nepal and around the world. The preview highlights typical Nepali dances and music from Vancouvers 2005 Dashain festivities, including Teejako Lahara, Tamang Selo (dance), Mayaluka, Gairi Khetko, Khutta Tandai Gara, Tamang Selo (song) and Dohori. (The full-length version of Dashain 2005 will be available for sale at the Film Festival, with proceeds going to the Nepal Cultural Society of BC.)

4. The Killing Terraces (Dir: Dhurba Basnet; 45 minutes) Directed by Nepal's renowned journalist/filmmaker Dhurba Basnet, The Killing Terraces sheds light on the political and economic causes of the current civil war in Nepal between the state and the Maoist insurgency group. More importantly, with first ever footage to come out from Maoist core areas (Rolpa and Rukum district), the film explores the tragic day to day human consequences on innocent rural citizens of Nepal. The film was made during the short cease fire in 2001 when Maoists allowed selected journalists, including Dhurba Basnet, to come to their base areas. Narrated by Deepak Thapa, one of the experts on the Maoist conflict, this film is an example of cutting edge filmmaking in the South and a balanced yet critical exploration of the current conflict in Nepal.

5. Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto (English title: In Search of a Song, Dir: Kiran Krishna Shrestha, 60 min). The release of the song Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto by the Nepali pop band Nepathya took Nepal by a storm. The song (which was an old folk song that Nepathya sang in a modern rock version) became an instant hit that put the band Nepathya, which had been fading during the last couple of years, into the forefront of Nepali pop/rock music scene. In this film Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto (literal translation Like sheeps wool ; English title of the film In Search of a Song) filmmaker Kiran Krishna Shrestha documents the trip that two members of Nepathya (vocalist Amrit Gurung and bassist Danu) along with journalist Narayan Wagle (who introduced the song to Nepathya) made in search of the village in Langtang region where the folk song Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto originated from. The team manages to locate the village and are blissfully entertained when the villagers sing the song in the original version. What may have started out as a fun road trip turns out to be a special journey where the artificial distance between different classes, between rural and urban residents and between different genres of music begin dissappearing, at least for a moment.

Kiran Krishna Shrestha is one of the promising young documentary filmmakers of Nepal. An Export Marketing Graduate turned into a Radio Presenter then to a TV producer / filmmaker (for Young Asia TV) Kiran currently heads a Music Management company Event Nepa~laya. Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto is his first independent documentary film. Bhenda Ko Oon Jasto received a Special Mention in the Film South Asia Festival 2003.

Where to buy tickets

Tickets are now available!

Price: $16 for both screenings, or $10 for one screening (films 1 and 2, or films 3, 4 and 5). 25% discount for students/seniors/low income: $12 for both screenings, $7.50 for one screening.

PAY BY PHONE:

Langara College Continuing Studies
100 West 49th Ave, Vancouver
pay by phone: (604) 323-5323

IN PERSON, CASH ONLY:

Cafe Kathmandu
2779 Commercial Dr., Vancouver (near 12th Ave)
Tues-Sun 5pm-10pm (closed Mon)

People's Co-op Bookstore
1391 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Mon-Sat 10am - 6pm
Sun 1pm - 5pm

Ten Thousand Villages
1204 Commercial Drive, Vancouver
Mon-Wed 10am-6pm
Thurs-Fri 10am-8pm
Sat 10am-6pm
Sun 11am-5pm

2909 West Broadway, Vancouver
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm
Sun 11am-5pm

1387 Marine Drive, West Vancouver
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

Videomatica
1855 West 4th Avenue, Vancouver
Sun-Thurs 10am-10pm
Fri & Sat 10am-11pm