Session I: On the Road With the Red God: Rato Machhendranath Nepal, 2004, 72 min
Kesang Tseten
Every 12 years, impassioned devotees pull a 65-feet tall unwieldy chariot in the Kathmandu Valley, its rider an enigmatic god worshipped by Hindu and Buddhist, on a months-long journey proceeded by abundant ritual and animal sacrifice. The enterprise calls for extreme cooperation and rigorous observance of ritual in the building, sanctification and pulling of the rath. But the jatra is an arena of gritty reality, where conflict or solidarity can prevail. So every 12 years, the same question: will the journey succeed?
Director’s Profile: Kesang Tseten, a writer and filmmaker, co-directed Listen to the Wind, a fictional film. He also wrote the original screenplay for Mukundo, a feature film, which was awarded the Best Script for 1999/2000 by the Nepal Motion Pictures Association. Lepchas of Sikkim: A Vanashing Tribe was shown at Film South Asia ’97.
Session II:
1) A Rough Cut On the Life Times of Lachuman Magar Nepal, 2001, 39 min
Dinesh Deokota
Lachuman Magar has led a colourful life. At the age of 58, he still has a strong affinity for the opposite sex. He has charmed them, cajoled them, and, more often than not, betrayed them. Today Lachuman’s life has come full circle and he has had to forsake most in life because of one woman. This is his story as only he can tell it.
Director’s Profile: Dinesh Deokota has been making short commissioned documentaries since 1997. He also videographs people bungee-jumping in the mountains of Nepal. This is the first long documentary by the Kathmandu-based filmmaker. Dinesh is hungry to do more and has several unusual ideas laid out for future projects.
2) Defining Comfort USA, 2006, 28 min.
Rajiv Gurung
The film follows Neeta, a Nepali woman, as she goes through her days doing seemingly mundane chores--cooking for her family, shopping, and working at a carwash. But beyond the routine, we get to see glimpses of her loneliness and her alienation from people around her. Faced with the impending death of a co-worker, Neeta is forced to reevaluate her concepts of home and comfort in a foreign land, and to reflect upon the coping measures she has been taking so far.
Session III: The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore Nepal, 1997, 38 min
Tsering Rhitar
The Tibetans' belief of curing diseases through going into a trance by invoking certain spirits/ protectors has been practiced and socially accepted for over a millennium now. In the Tibetan tradition, this art is mostly inherited by the healer's
son- sometimes by a daughter, who hereditarily possesses this inborn channel, which only needs to be opened to be initiated as healer. This is how the tradition is continued. This art of healing can't be taught in the way a teacher teaches his student- it is an inborn quality, which only needs a kind of stimuli to channelise the power. With a history of thirteen generations of continuous spiritual healer in his family, 78-year old Pao Wangchuk is frustrated with the fact that his son is incapable of continuing the family lineage. Karma, like many youth of today, is given to drinking and easy life, and can't live up to the demands of being a spiritual healer. In the conflict between father and son, Pao constantly complains that Karma is wasting away his life, and is worried that family lineage will die. But Karma doesn't care. He represents, and is frustrated by, his father's constant complaining and mistrust. His frustration even led him to attempt suicide once.
Director’s Profile: Kathmandu based Tsering Rhitar studied film at Jamia Milia Islamia University, Delhi, and has made several documentaries since.
Session IV:
1) Seeking Peace in Karnali Nepal, 2003, 33 min
Mohan Mainali
Karnali zone of Nepal has been kept backward. It has the lowest per capita income, lowest literacy rate. In recent years, it has been hit hardest by the insurgency launched by the Communists Party of Nepal (Maoists). Many innocent people have been killed by the state security force and the Maoists. Those who are alive face hard times. In late 2003 the Maoists and the government declared ceasefire and engaged in a dialogue. The film deals with the impact of war on the people of Karnali hills and their quest for peace.
Director’s Profile: Mohan Mainali began his career as a print journalist and started producing video reports and documentaries on environment and social issues. He has extensively travelled in Nepal's war-torn countryside to assess human rights violations by the state as well as the rebels and the impact of the war on marginalised rural population. He has reported on people‘s sufferings on print, radio and audio-visual mediums.
2) Six Stories Nepal, 2004, 43 min
Mohan Mainali
More than 10,000 Nepalis have lost their lives since the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoists) launched a violent revolt in early 1996. It may take years for families that have lost members to overcome their loss, if they ever do. The film tells stories of six such families from western Nepal. Three lost their kin to Maoists and the other three to state violence. None of the dead were combatants.
Session V:
1) We have the Same Kind of Blood Nepal, 2001, 41 min
Berit Madsen
Shot in western Nepal this film is a close portrait of the daily life of Dalit or “untouchablesâ€, in a small mountain village in west Nepal. Several Dalit castes – Kami, Damai, Sunar, Bhul among others – as well as some Thakuri upper-caste households inhabit the village. The film is an experience of the relationship between lower and upper castes and their reflections on the caste system. Why are there separate water taps for upper and lower castes? Why are the Dalit forbidden accesses to temples? As the film progresses, we get an understanding of the influence of the religious cosmology upon caste behaviour and the daily life as such.
Director’s Profile: Berit Madsen is a filmmaker from Denmark. Among her films are The Last Working Season of Mr Madson, made in Denmark, The Goat Race, a film based in Trinidad and The Cleaner and UTV. She won the first prize at the Festival du Film et Grand Reportage of Lagne-Sur-Marne in Paris in 1992 with her documentary A la Moscowa.
2) Underestimated Challenges: HIV/AIDS Nepal, 2003, 14 Minutes
Nitesh Raj Pant
Making of this documentary is based on very interesting ground where I got an opportunity to participate in a program organized by UNDP on 2003. There I met numerous peoples of media as well as people living with HIV/AIDS.
We the media personnel were introduced to people with HIV/AIDS to do something from our individual ground to generate information and educate people with healthy information. On the span of time I came into contact with Mr Salim Akthar, the founder of NEPAL PLUS, a group of people living with HIV/AIDS; he invited me to participate in the program organized by MAITI NEPAL. This was a field trip to Lakure Bhangayang just 25 kilometers away from the Kathmandu valley to generate mass awareness about girls’ trafficking, HIV/AIDS, education, etc. I had joined to overview the impact of that short of applied action and its effect on people, in the form of a documentary. This documentary was produced accidentally but the information it portrays is the real people, their situations and outcomes. So I hope this will be the interesting profile which I have captured live will open ideas to those who want to do something in the field of social work.
Session VI: Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi - History for Winners Nepal, 2003, 67 min
Pranay Limbu
An award-winning singer makes a desperate but unsuccessful attempt to make a comeback after being in musical hibernation for seven years. Itihaas Jitneharuka Laagi portrays the changes in the Nepali music scene, as represented by Kuber Rai and Dhiraj Rai. The two singers are a study in contrasts, with their diametrically opposing personalities and attitude towards music.
Director’s Profile: Pranay Limbu has been directing and producing documentaries for the last five years. He works with RBA Films and Research Center in Nepal.
