Getting high on mountains We are the land of the Everest, the Kanchenjunga, the Annapurna, the Manaslu, the Lhotse... To celebrate the mountains and the lives that they sustain, the Capital will be hosting the fourth edition of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) from December 7-11. Seventy-three films from 26 countries embracing different genres of filmmaking — documentaries, features, animation — will be screened at KIMFF. This year, KIMFF is going to be different. The screenings will be held back to back at three different venues — Russian Culture Centre at Kamal Pokhari, Gurukul at Old Baneshwore, and Tourist Service Centre at Pradarshani Marg. “All the films of KIMFF will be screened at Russian Culture Centre, with Gurukul and NTB screening specific films,” said Renchin Yonjan, publicity director of KIMFF. Audience need not be alarmed that KIMFF will bore us with films and more films on mountains, mountains and more mo-untains. Yes, KIMFF is very obviously about mountains, but it is also about films on mountain people, mountain sports, mountain lifestyles, not only from Nepal or South Asia, but from around the globe. Out of the 73 films being screened, 15 films are from BANFF under the title ‘Best of Banff’ (Banff is Canada’s premier mountain film festival), while four will be a retrospective of films by Narain Singh Thapa, an Indian filmmaker of Nepali origin who specialised on Himalayan valleys and mountains. Not to be outdone by outsiders on home turf, four Nepali films will screened. “Nineteen films from Nepal had been submitted for KIMFF,” said festival director Ramyata Limbu, adding that this was really a positive sign from Nepali filmmakers. Among the Nepali films, Subina Shrestha’s Chulo, Cholo ra Banduk (A stove, a blouse and a gun) is one on Maoist women cadres which stands out because of “clarity of thought of these women cadres”. As Yonjan put it, “the aim of KIMFF is to make Kathmandu (Nepal) the centre of all mountain film festivals, build an archive, and a network of filmmakers from all over so that budding filmmakers get a platform to exchange ideas and get to learn and know from each other”. The first step towards this has already been taken — from one venue KIMFF has moved to three, and the other — from being a bienniel event, the idea is to “make KIMFF into an annual festival”. Dwelling on archiving, this year’s KIMFF is dedicated and a tribute to Dr Harka Gurung, eminent author and geographer, who died tragically in a helicopter crash earlier this year. He can be said to have been ‘Nepal’s one and only walking-talking treasure house of knowlege’. Stressing on the importance of setting up an archive, Yonjan said, “We no longer have Dr Gurung with us, so we do not have the luxury of just ringing him up and asking ‘Harka dai can you help us with this fact?’ We need to start documenting and storing facts for our coming generation.” Watching films from so many countries will be a treat for the audience in itself, however, here’s the icing on the cake — Kunda Dixit will test audience on their knowledge of Neplai Himalayas in ‘Know your Himal’. Those giving the correct answers will win attractive prizes. Viewers’ participation does end there. The film receiving the most votes from viewers will win the Audience Award. So, people here’s your chance to exercise your ‘right to vote’. Tickets priced at Rs 30. Call 5542544, or visit www.himalassociation.org/kimff • Dancing Kathmandu explores the classical dance scene in Kathmandu • Chulo, Cholo ra Banduk looks at women in the Maoist movement • Hami Kunako Manchhe is about a remote Tamang village that gets a bridge • The Last Race is a tale of friendship of two boys in picturesque Manang