December 1, Kathmandu– Amid ongoing pandemic, the second chapter of Nepal Cultural International Film Festival kicked-off today here in Kathmandu. A completely film festival was scheduled to be held in Toronto, Canada at tiff in earlier this year in April.
“We were all done with our preparations and the pandemic hit to shatter our all plans. Reviving the efforts and taking it online was quite a challenge, and I am happy to see it rolling virtually,” commented Mr. Santosh Subedi, chair of the festival organizing team at Nepal Culture and Film Center (NCFC). The festival motive was to promote cine tourism and preserve cultural films globally and create a global platform for all film makers to show case their talents in a virtual world and bring people together as a means of cultural exchange said by Mr. Subedi.
The opening ceremony was attended by more than 100 participants while Dr. Shekhar Koirala was the chief guest of the ceremony. In his remarks Dr. Koirala affirmed his commitment towards freedom of expression and thanked the organizers for pursuing the festival as a mode of furthering the movement on civil rights. Patron of NCFC and former Chief of Army Staffs, Mr. Rookmangud Katwal invited to be united in fight our common foes such as COVID-19 and ecological collapse. Festival such as this provides opportunities to understanding and uniting the global community.
Transparency, accountability and meritocracy are fully observed during the festival. Other speakers such as senior artist Mr. Krishna Malla, chief jury Alberto Guzman, jury member Liane Cunje, Elizabeth White, Dalia Alice and actress Richa Sharma commended the efforts the organizers have put into organizing the festival.
The festival marks participation of 41 films from 24 countries worldwide to be showcased online from 3rd- 10th December.
Video YouTube Link
Viewers can join MyFopi app for free to watch the movies online. Similarly, on 15th and 16th December discussion and interaction session webinar will be organized where international professional film makers/ directors/ producers/ Actors /cinematographers/ freelancer from the global will be invited to attend as a panelist. The films will be judged by a jury team and the winners will be announced on the 29th.
