NATIONAL8 (Spotlight Weekly]

Forum For Talents

Nepalese directors prove their worth in documentary film-making

By A CORRESPONDENT

The four-day-long Film South Asia 2001 -- the third documentary film festival -- ended here on Sunday (October 7) ushering a new set of talents from the region. More importantly, the festival marked the arrival of young Nepalese talents like Dhruba Basnet and Dinesh Devkota.

The fact that Devkota's "A Rough Cut On The Life And Times Of Lachhuman Magar" bagged the second prize in the competition reflects the qualitative growth of Nepalese documentary-makers. The film is based on a simple story of an ordinary guy Lachhuman Magar told in an extraordinary fashion inducing laughter amid agony.

Likewise, Basnet's "Killing Terraces" -- based on the story of how the lives of ordinary people of the mid-western Nepal changed following the violent insurgency there -- too, was critically acclaimed. It was, however, not included in the competition.

About 45 documentaries from India, Nepal, Pakistan and Bangladesh were included in the competition. That apart, five others were also shown. The 50 documentaries were selected from among 175 applicants.

India had the largest participation with 30 films, Pakistan had 7 films and Nepal and Bangladesh chipped in with 4 each.

It was the "My Migrant Soul" directed by Yasmine Kabir of Bangladesh, which took the first prize and won the Ram Bahadur Trophy and a cash prize of US$2,000. The film is based on a story of a poor Bangladeshi worker who migrates to Malaysia hoping for a job and good pay but ends up in jail and utter slavery.

The third prize went to "Jari Mari: Of Cloth And Other Stories", directed by Sarabhi Sharma of India. The critic's award was bagged by "King Of Dreams", directed by Amar Kanwar of India.

Likewise, documentaries like "We Homes Chaps", "Highway To Hell" and "India and Pakistan Under Nuclear Shadow" managed to inspire the audiences with their themes.

The films were ranked by the three-member jury team that included Neer Shah of Nepal, Shyam Benegal of India and Firdouz Azim of Bangladesh. Benegal, the reputed director of Indian film industry, had opened the show amid a special function.

Almost 6,000 persons visited the festival venue over the four days of film screening. The organizers were particularly delighted by the large turnout of local population.

The subjects of the documentaries were as diverse as the region itself is. From social issues to political and from insurgency to migration, the themes touched every possible aspects of South Asian life. South Asia is home to the most prolific film industry in the world -- the Bollywood. But, the region has not been that successful in making its mark on the global arena regarding the serious films and documentaries.

With the view to provide forum to the South Asian documentary-makers, the Himal Association has been actively organizing the Film South Asia since 1997.