2012 PROGRAM

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Welcome to the 3rd Annual Toronto Nepali Film Festival. TNFF was established in 2010 with a mission to promote Nepal’s rapidly emerging and vibrant independent filmmaking industry. The festival’s goal is to provide a platform for critical insights into contemporary Nepali narratives through films. By hosting the event and through other satellite programs, TNFF aims to add a distinctive voice to Toronto’s multicultural landscape and create a cross-cultural dialogue. The festival’s growing success and expanding outreach is credited to the relentless work of TNFF directors, team leads and volunteers. Many wonderful films were received, an effective fundraising and marketing campaign were executed and operations ran smoothly to deliver the 3rd film festival. A special thanks to the TNFF 2012 jury for an extraordinary program. This year we are co-presenting films with established film festivals, media organizations, and community organizations, both in Toronto and in Nepal. I would like to thank our co-presenters HotDocs, Planet in Focus, Toronto Reel Asian International Film Festival, South Asian Visual Arts Centre, Indigenous Film Archive, Nepal Cine Symposium, Film South Asia, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Sattya Media Arts Collective, NRN-Canada, Canadian Newa Guthi, Nepalese Janajati Association – Canada and Nepalese Canadian Community Services. I am confident that this is the beginning of a strong and enduring relationship. I would also like to thank our sponsors and media partners for their generous contribution. A special thanks to the Embassy of Nepal and Federation of Nepali and Tibetan students at York University (FONATS) for their continued support. I hope you will enjoy the 3rd Annual Toronto Nepali Film Festival. With Warm Wishes, Sirjana Pant Executive Director, TNFF

Welcome to the third edition of Toronto Nepali Film Festival! This year we received forty-six submissions from Canada, Germany, Nepal, Russia and the US. We have selected nine extraordinary films consisting of shorts, documentary and fiction. I am very grateful to my fellow jurors Julie Bridgham and Richard Fung for their generous time in putting together this excellent program. We do not program our films with a theme per say, but there is a thematic thread that runs through our program each year. For example in the last two years, many of the films centred around the narratives of the ten year long Maoist rebellion, social and political issues surrounding it, its wounds and the process of healing. It is reflective from this year’s program that Nepal has moved on from the inflictions of the Maoist rebellion. Nepalis are on the move, crossing geographies, boundaries and borders. Migration is the underlying theme of this year’s program. The festival kicks off with our very own Lakshya Dhungana and Paula Mateo’s short, Identity. It is fitting that we start with our own story of why many of us in the Nepali Diaspora have chosen to make Canada our home. Another film, Journey to Yarsa documents the seasonal migration of thousand of villagers in Western Nepal as they leave their villages in search of Yarsa Gumba (cordyceps). Kesang Tseten’s Saving Dolma takes us into the stultifying heat of Kuwait, where Dolma, a Nepali domestic worker awaits her death sentence. In Buried in Tears, we find the film following a rock band called Stop Crackdown, whose band members are migrant workers from Nepal, Burma, Indonesia and Korea. The band sings their hearts out against the inhuman immigration policies of South Korea, the world’s fifteenth largest economy. I would like to thank my colleagues of TNFF Curatorial Department Sabin Ninglekhu, Neity KC, Sachet Siwakoti, Prabhakar Regmi, Lakshay Dhungana and Kneha KC for their extraordinary dedication. Lastly TNFF is truly indebted to our friends Ngawang Dolma Tamang, Sangam Pulami Magar and Nabin Subba at Indigenous Film Archive in Kathmandu for their generous assistance. I hope you enjoy TNFF 2012 program and we hope to see you again next year. With Best Wishes, Surendra Lawoti Festival Curator

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Message from the Vice President of NRN Canada 2

On behalf of the Non-Resident Nepali Canada, I am delighted to extend greetings and warm wishes to members of the Toronto Nepali Film Festival. The Nepalese community is very happy to be hosting the third celebration of TNFF. TNFF plays an important role in our social and cultural development. It strengthens our communities and has a vital role in keeping Nepalese Canadians united and strong. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the volunteers and the staff of TNFF. Thank you for taking the initiative to launch this insightful event, which will enlighten, entertain, and inspire its avid audience. I wish you all the success. Gopal Bhandari Vice president, Toronto NRN Canada

2012 TNFF Jurors 3

Julie Bridgham is a Sundance Institute Documentary Fellow, and is the Director and Producer of the award winning documentary “The Sari Soldiers” for which she received the 2008 Nestor Almendros Prize for courage and commitment in human rights filmmaking. Over the past six years, she has lived for extended periods in Nepal where she produced and directed numerous documentaries. She has produced and directed numerous documentary series that have taken her around the globe, including “Exotic Islands”, and the series “Royal Families of the World” as well as documentary series for the BBC, CBS, the Discovery Channel and TLC. Richard Fung is a Trinidad-born, Toronto-based video artist and writer. His single channel videotapes and installations have been widely collected and exhibited internationally, and his essays have been published in numerous journals and anthologies. Among several honours he is a recipient of the Bell Canada award for outstanding achievement in video art and the Toronto Arts Award for media art. He teaches in the Faculty of Art at OCAD University. Surendra Lawoti is a Nepali photographer and lives and works in Toronto. His work has been exhibited in Toronto, Montreal, Chicago, Boston, Medellin, Colombia and in Kathmandu, Nepal. He has received awards from Ontario Arts Council, Artadia, Community Arts Assistance Program through City of Chicago and Somerville Arts Council. His work has been featured in numerous publications including The Boston Globe, Camera Austria, Spacing Magazine and NewCity Chicago. He is the Festival Curator of TNFF.

TNFF 2012 Film Program 4

Session A: 1:15-3:30PM 1:30PM

Identity (14 min)

2:00PM  Buwega Maanatuna (The Spinner of Flights) (22:20 min)

2:30PM Kushee Bhaneko (A Thing Called Happiness) (7:23 min)

2:40PM Journey to Yarsa

(55 min)

Session B: 4:00-6:00PM 4:00PM  Hanuman Airlines (29 min)

4:35PM Saving Dolma

(62 min)

Session C: 7:00-10:15PM 7:00PM Ma Khusi Chu (I am Happy) (27 min)

7:35PM Team Nepal

(38 min)

8:15PM Buried in Tears (40 min)

9:45PM Performance

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Identity Canada › Documentary › 2010 14 min Nepali and Tagalog w/ English subtitles Directors/Producers: Lakshya Dhungana & Paula Mateo

co-presentation with nrn-canada

This introspective short documentary delves into the diasporic voices of migration and identity amongst Toronto’s Nepali and Filipino community.

Lakshya Dhungana is from Nepal and is a third year student of the International Development Studies in University of Toronto, Scarborough. Paula Mateo is from Philippines, studies Graphic Design at RCC Academy of Design in Toronto. Identity is their first film. Previous Screening and Awards YMCA Voices Film Festival, 2011

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Buwega Maanatuna (The Spinner of Flights)

Nepal › Documentary › 2011 22:20 min Newari and Nepali w/English subtitles Director/Producer: Loonibha Tuladhar

co-presentation with indigenous film archive

Canadian New Guthi

This beautiful film centres on the life of Meera Sthapit, who is a spindle-maker and has produced thousands of spindles that launch colourful kites into the Kathmandu sky every autumn. The film is in Newari language spoken by Newars who are indigenous to Kathmandu valley. In the face of Nepal’s rapidly changing cultural landscape, Meera’s moored life is about to soar into the sky and fly freely like a kite.

Loonibha Tuladhar is currently pursuing her MA in Rural Development and believes that theatre can bring change in society. She has been working on BBC radio dramas since 2010, while also teaching theatre and taking street plays to different parts of the country. Her first film was Samali, the Escort. Previous Screening and Awards Encouragement Award, Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival, Kathmandu, 2011 ImagineNATIVE Film Festival, Toronto, Canada, 2011

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Kushee Bhaneko

(A Thing Called Happiness)

co-presentation with nepal cine symposium

Nepal › Short › 2011 7:23 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Director/Producer: Anya Vaverko This film is a collection of thoughts on happiness from the people living in different places in Nepal. It is a simple look into contemporary Nepal and the people who live in it, yet its theme is universal.

Anya Vaverko was born in Ukraine, grew up in New York and has been connected with Nepal since 2003. She studied photojournalism at University of Texas in Austin, and has been living in Nepal since 2009, where she is the co-founder of Sattya Media Arts Collective. This is her second short film. Previous Screening and Awards Local@Sattya, Sattya Media Arts Collective, Kathmandu, 2011 Local Shorts Screening Series, Times Square Mall, Kathmandu, 2011

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Journey to Yarsa

co-presentation with planet in focus and film south asia

Nepal › Documentary › 2011 55 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Director: Dipendra Bhandari Producer: Adventure Nepal Production Disu Bhandari (Manadhar) Thousands of families in Rukum District (western Nepal) leave their villages and flock the high altitude meadows in the Himalayas every summer in search of Yarsa Gumba (cordyceps). Due to the high demands of cordyceps in the Chinese market in recent years, the over-harvesting is likely to affect the region’s ecosystem. Stunningly shot, the documentary unravels stories of everyday hardships, struggles, and failures while paying tribute to human resilience, hope and conviction amidst harsh geography and climatic conditions.

Dipendra Bhandari has been involved in the field of documentary making and production since 1999.  He has Diploma in Television Production from Academic of Audio Visual Arts and Sciences (AAVAS).  He has been working with major Television stations In Nepal such as Nepal Television and Kantipur Television. Journey to Yarsa is his first documentary film. Previous Screening and Awards Best Debut Film Award, Film South Asia 2011, Kathmandu, Nepal Audience Choice Award, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival 2011, Nepal

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Hanuman Airlines

co-presentation with nepalese janajati association - canada

USA › Documentary › 2011 29 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Director: Pevec Hamilton. Producers: David Aruffat and Kimberly Phinney. This documentary follows Babu and Lakpa, two crazy but affable thrill seekers as they set out to make their first debut flight of Hanuman Airlines from top of the Mount Everest on a Paraglider. This is a film about faith, determination and living your dreams. It is a story about flying Sherpas.

American filmmaker Hamilton Pevec has spent the last 10 years traveling the world, producing documentaries, developing film curriculum, teaching hands on production techniques and training locals. In 2009 he spent a year in India producing documentaries for the Dalai Lama’s Archive and teaching the Buddhist monks and nuns filmtmaking. He has also worked in South Korea as an art director for the Korean feature Lagoon and as a co-producer for the feature film Further Beyond.  In the same year in New Zealand, he produced and shot a five-part documentary series about an international spiritual organization called The Burning Question. Previous Screening and Awards Coupe Icare – St. Hilary Film Festival, France, 2011 Paragliding Film Festival, Budapest, 2011 BANFF Mountain Film Festival & Tour, Banff, Canada, 2011/2012 Vancouver Mountain Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada, 2012 Nor Cal Free Flight Film Festival, San Francisco, USA, 2011

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Saving Dolma

co-presentation with hotdocs and kathmandu international mountain film festival

Nepal › Documentary › 2010 62 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Director/Producer: Kesang Tseten This is the second documentary of prolific Kesang Tseten’s trio of films about Nepali migrant workers in the Arabian Gulf. The film follows the case of Dolma, a Nepali woman sentenced to death in Kuwait for supposed killing of a fellow domestic worker.  In Kuwait, foreign domestic workers are vulnerable to abuse as labour laws do not cover the domestic workspace. The film points to the condition of housemaids, and restrains from easy sentiment and resolution.

Kesang Tseten is an acclaimed Tibetan Nepali filmmaker based in Kathmandu. His other two films on Nepali migrant workers in the Arabian Gulf are In Search of the Riyal and The Desert Eats US. The former was screened at Busan International Film Festival, Leipzig International Documentary and Animation Festival and winner of Audience Choice Award at 2nd Toronto Nepali Film Festival. The latter was premiered in Leipzig. His other directing credits include Hami Kunako Manche (We Corner People) that won the Best Nepali Documentary at Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival in 2006. Machhendranath: On the Road with the Red God won the Grand Prize at the Kendal Mountain Film Festival, UK, 2006. He has also written the scripts for the Nepali features Mukondo and Karma. Previous Screening and Awards Recipient of the Jan Vrijman Fund, premiered in International Film Festival of Amsterdam, 2010 Audience Choice Award, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, 2010

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Ma Khusi Chu (I am Happy)

co-presentation with south asian visual arts centre & sattya media arts collective

Nepal › Fiction › 2011 27 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Producer: Abinash Bikram Shah Producer: Anup Poudel This thoughtful and innovative film is about two idiosyncratic urban characters; Vashna, who lives to make others happy, and Aakash, an aimless wanderer who chooses to live happily in the moment. The film is about their meeting, and the beautiful and fleeting moments that lead to it.

Abhinash Bikram Shah lives and works in Kathmandu as an independent filmmaker. He is an alumnus of Berlinale Talent Campus in Germany, and Asian Film Academy in South Korea. His short Tie is..Perhaps.. won the best film award in Kalaghoda International Film Festival, India in 2010. The film has also been screened at Inter-university Short Film Festival, Bangladesh and Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival in 2010. He has also written scripts for features Highway and Hamro Team. He has just finished another short Sarir under Lalteen Project. Previous Screening and Awards Busan International Film Festival, South Korea, 2011 World Film Festival of Bangkok, 2012 Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, Nepal, 2011 Seattle South Asian International Film Festival, 2011

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Team Nepal

co-presentation with nepalese canadian community services

Nepal › Documentary › 2005 38 min Nepali w/ English subtitles Director: Girish Giri Producer: Nepa-laya This is a lively film about a soccer team representing a youth club from Birgunj (town in western Nepal bordering Bihar, India) that travels to Bihar to play a tournament. Diarisitic and spontaneous in nature, the film cherishes myriad moments of laughter and camaraderie. Wins and losses are part of the story, both on the soccer field and in life.

Girsih Giri is a journalist and a documentary filmmaker. He is the Bureau Chief of Nagarik, one of the largest Nepali daily newspapers. He writes about cinema, music, visual arts, culture and travel. He has worked for several International TV including National Geographic as a Field Producer. Previous Screenings and Awards Film South Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal, 2005 Winner of Mention Award, Sports Movie and TV-23 International Festival, Italy, 2005 Traveling Film South Asia, 2006

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Buried in Tears

co-presentation with toronto reel asian international film festival

Nepal › Documentary › 2011 40 min Korean and Nepali w/ English subtitles Director: Ashok Thapa Producer: Ahsok Thapa and Park Su-hyun This innovative and passionate documentary follows a rock band called Stop Crackdown in South Korea. The five-members band consists of migrant workers from Nepal, Burma, Indonesia and Korea as they play their heart out against the crackdowns on migrant workers. Amidst the extraordinary visuals of street protests, baton brandishing helmeted police, despair and survival; this groundbreaking film brings forth the untold realities of inhuman immigration policies of the world’s fifteenth largest economy, South Korea.

Ashok Thapa lived in South Korea for nine years working in a migrant workers’ Television station. He is the Director of M-media Private Limited and online video journalist of www.nepalkorea.com. Buried in Tears is his first film and started working on it since 2007. Currently he is working on another documentary on Nepathya, one of the most popular rock bands in Nepal. Previous Screening and Awards Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, 2011

Toronto Nepali Film Festival is a not for profit community organization based in Toronto, Ontario. We screen films 14 that pertain to Nepal and Nepalis. The festival is open to filmmakers from anywhere in the world, and is open to all genres of films including documentaries, animation and experimental. We encourage diversity in the overall content of its programs by celebrating indigenous identities, issues related to women and other marginalized communities. TNFF’s mission is to promote and support Nepali filmmaking. We want to engage our audience about relevant Nepali stories and issues through films. We want to create a platform for dialogue between Nepali and the global filmmaking communities. We want to create a cross-cultural dialogue by bringing diverse audience under one roof.

tnff board of directors (2011 – 12) Sirjana Pant, Executive Anjan Chettry, Finance Surendra Lawoti, Festival Curator advisory board Parag Shrestha tnff 2012 working committee communication Sachet Siwakoti (team lead), Neity KC and Prabhakar Regmi. curatorial Surendra Lawoti (team lead), Sabin Ninglekhu, Kneha KC, Neity KC, Prabhakar Regmi, Sachet Siwakoti and Lakshya Dhungana.

finance Anjan Chhetry (team lead), Krishna Gaudel, Manjula Shrestha and Nishan Pradhan. fundraising Janmanjay Ranjit (team lead), Sirjana Pant, Nilam Chhetry, Samir Patti, MaryGold Sharma Bhandari, Dawa Lama, Rakshya Mahat, Kneha Kc and Ishwar Thapa. marketing Bipin Pokharel (team lead), Anupam Paudel, Anjan Chhetry, Ariel Estulin, Raunak Shrestha, Saugar Sainju, Samir Patti, Neity KC, Sushan Pradhan, Ishwar Thapa and Annie Shrestha. operations Srijana Pant (team lead), and the entire TNFF team.

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TNFF 2010 Volunteers with Filmmaker Julie Birdgham and Juror June Chua

Thank you to all our volunteers and filmmakers.

TNFF 2011 Volunteers with performers Deepali Lindblom and Swechchha Pokhrel

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