PROGRAMME  

FREE ENTRY ON A FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS 

DAY 1 - 2 DECEMBER 2024                                        

09:45 - 10:15

DHYE DREAMS directed by Shanta Nepali

English, 27 min, nonfiction, winner of the short film competition organised by the EUDEL Nepal in April 2024

“Dhye Dreams” is a 30-minute documentary that intimately explores the lives of three women fighting against their fate: Sonam Sangmo, Kunchok Dolkar, and Lhakpa Choezon. Most villagers have moved down to a river-fed valley and the new frontier town of Chambaleh, where they hope to grow a commercial apple crop. But Kunchok and Lhakpa stay with their beloved livestock and fields up in the mountains. Their stories highlight the resilience and struggle for the survival of isolated Himalayan villages battling against dramatic climate change.

10:15 - 10:30: Q&A session with the director of the short film, Shanta Nepali

10:30 - 11:00: BREAK

11:00 - 12:10

ONE NIGHT IN KATHMANDU directed by Mohan Rai

Nepali with English subtitles, 70 min, fiction

The effort by a girl - together with a boy with whom she is not introduced properly, to save a man injured in a road accident one evening in Kathmandu unexpectedly turns out to be a pretext to heal her own wounded soul.

12:10 - 12:40: BREAK

12:40 - 14:00:

NO WINTER HOLIDAYS directed by Rajan Kathet & Sunir Pandey

Nepali with English subtitles, 78 min, nonfiction

Two lifelong rivals, Ratima and Kalima, have been appointed caretakers of their empty village. Now, in the twilight of their lives, they must forget their past and help each other survive a long and harsh winter.

14:00 – 14:30: BREAK

14:30- 14:45:

THE BULL, THE COW & THE CALF directed by Swoyam Maskey Manandhar

Nepali with English subtitles, 14 min, winner of the short film competition organised by the EUDEL Nepal in April 2024

In the midst of social divides, ‘The Bull, The Cow, and The Calf’ reveals the toll of family conflict on children. As financial tensions rise between parents, their son quietly observes their arguments. Trapped between their struggles and a desire for peace, the boy confronts the loss of innocence in their turbulent home.

14:45 -15:00: Q&A session with director of the film, Swoyam Maskey Manandhar

15:00 – 15:30: BREAK

Opening of the festival: by invitation only       

15:30 – 15:35:   Opening of the photo exhibition by Deputy Director, EEAS, Asia-Pacific, Rensje Teerink – Time may be changed to suit availability

15:35: 15:45    Opening of the film festival by Deputy Director, EEAS, Asia-Pacific, Rensje Teerink – Time may be changed to suit availability

15:45 – 15:55:  Short remarks by Ambassador of Nepal to Belgium & Chief of Mission to the European Union, H.E. Gehendra Rajbhandari (tbc)

16:00 -18:00:

A ROAD TO A VILLAGE (GAON AAYEKO BATO) directed by Nabin Subba

Nepali with English subtitles, 120 min, fiction

Ups and downs in the relationship between a father and his son after the construction of a road in the village in an indigenous community in Nepal.

18:00 - 18:15: Q&A session with director of the film, Nabin Subba

18:15- 19:00: Networking drinks

 DAY 2 - 3 DECEMBER 2024                                        

09:00 - 10:50:

THE SECRETS OF RADHA directed by Subarna Thapa

Nepali with English subtitles, 95 min, fiction

A poetic picturisation of the struggle and courage of a Nepali woman.

10:50 - 11:05 Q&A session with director of the film, Subarna Thapa

11:05 - 11:35: BREAK

11:35 - 12:55:

INTO THE MIST directed by Dr. Sachin Ghimire & Gaurab KC

Nepali with English subtitles, 78 min, nonfiction

This is a biopic based on the life and work of leading Nepali anthropologist Dor Bahadur Bista. Professor Bista is remembered to this day for institutionalising anthropology and sociology in Nepal. Highly regarded and considered by some as a somewhat controversial figure, he suddenly disappeared one day, and no one knows what happened to him. This film explores his disappearance as well as his legacy.

12:55 - 13:25: BREAK

13:25 - 15:05:

BULAKI directed by Laxman Sunar

Nepali with English subtitles, 105 min, fiction

A story based on a practice called “Jari,” prevalent in some parts of Nepal (whereby a man who married the wife of another man has to pay compensation to the latter in form of cash and in kind), and its implications for two families, set against the remoteness and hardship of a far-flung region in Nepal.

15:05 - 15:25: BREAK

15:25 - 16:45:

AJIMA AND 6 GENDERS directed by Sunil Babu Panta

Nepali with English subtitles, 80 min, nonfiction

The documentary delves into Kathmandu’s matriarchal history, focusing on the Ajima goddesses, and the complex relationship between patriarchal and matriarchal values. The film explores diverse genders and sexualities, and presents a profound reflection on cultural heritage and modern gender issues.

16:45 -17:00: Q&A with the director of the film, Sunil Babu Panta

  DAY 3 - 4 DECEMBER 2024                                        

9:15 - 10:45:

BLACK HEN directed by Min Bham

Nepali with English subtitles, 80 min, fiction

The film is based on a journey embarked by two friends, Prakash and Kiran, belonging to different castes in search of a missing hen, unaware of the tyranny brought by the fragile ceasefire during the Nepalese civil war.

10:45 -11:15: BREAK

11:15 - 13:15:

BULBUL directed by Binod Poudel

Nepali with English subtitles, 116 min, fiction

A story about a woman who drives a tempo (3-wheeled micro-bus service). The film touches on topics of couples separated because one person leaves to work abroad, and life for the person who stays behind, among many other themes.

13:15 -13:45: BREAK

13:45 - 15:30

BUTTERFLY ON A WINDOW PANE directed by Sujit Bidari

Nepali with English subtitles, 96 min, fiction

As the studious Bidhya (13) prepares for her further studies, her juvenile brother Basanta

(9) keeps distracting her with his antics. But when he learns that his sister is giving up on her dreams, Basanta struggles to give Bidhya the hope and inspiration she desperately needs.

15:30 - 15:45: Q&A with the director of the film, Sujit Bidari

END