16th Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) Highlights
The 16th edition of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) celebrated remarkable cinematic achievements with a focus on the theme Women Move Mountains.
KIMFF Nepal Panorama Best Documentary Award
The documentary Marisakeko Manche (The Man Who Was Already Dead), produced by Ujyalo Multimedia and directed by Vidya Chapagain and Kamal Kumar, won the prestigious KIMFF Nepal Panorama Best Documentary Award. The award comes with a prize of NPR 75,000. The film tells the emotional story of two families from Morang and Baglung, connected by a tragic road accident in Saudi Arabia, exploring themes of loss, mistaken identities, and the joy of reunion.
Other Notable Winners
ICIMOD Best Mountain Film Award was claimed by An Uncertain Winter, directed by Munmun Dhalaria, showcasing life in Himachal, India. Dolpo Diary by Prasuna Dongol won the Best Invention Mountain Film Award with a prize of USD 1,000.
In the fiction category, Tattini by Abinash Bikram Sherpa secured the Nepal Panorama Best Fiction Award (USD 1,000), while The Great Mukhiya by Ashin Paudel received the Nepal Panorama Jury Mention Award.
International Awards
A Thousand Girls Like Me by Afghanistan’s Sara Mani won the first prize of USD 1,500 in the international category. The Next Guardian by Bhutan’s Arun Bhattarai and Dorottya Zurbó took second place with USD 1,000, and Eastern Memories by Finland’s Nikolas Kullstrom and Martti Kaartinen earned third place with USD 500.
Audience Choice and Special Recognition
The Audience Choice Award, with a prize of NPR 50,000, was won by Super Monk by Nepal’s Shenang Gyamjo Tamang. Additionally, Vidya Chapagain’s Mountain Guards won the KIMFF Doc Lab Pitch 2018, securing NPR 200,000 from the British Council for a new project.
Congratulations to all the winners and participants for making this women-centric edition of KIMFF a success!
