Latest news with #KathmanduInternationalMountainFilmFestival
Hindustan Times
29-05-2025
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Tibet groups call on Nepalese film festival to cancel Xizang Panorama
A coalition of 145 global Tibet-related organisations have called on the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) to cancel 'Xizang Panorama' immediately, which they claim is China's 'propaganda'. 'Xizang Panorama' is a program under KIMFF's international category, featuring a selection of six short films, each approximately 15 minutes long. The country of origin listed for all the films is China. The organisations have maintained that KIMFF's 'Xizang Panorama' wrongly refers to Tibet with the name 'Xizang' which they said is a term that the Chinese government is promoting as a tool of imperial erasure and its use undermines the distinct historical and cultural identity of Tibet. Kathmandu is hosting the 22nd edition of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF), from May 28 to June 1. The Dharamshala-based Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) in the past also opposed the usage of 'Xizang' instead of Tibet – calling it Chinese propaganda. 'The programme – Xizang Panorama – is not only inaccurately named 'Xizang', but it also features propaganda films that showcase China's false narrative about the situation in Tibet. One such is 'Life of Buda' which promotes China's false narrative of the occupation of Tibet as a 'peaceful liberation' ,the organisations said in a statement. The organisations include India Tibet Friendship Society, Students for a Free Tibet, The Global Alliance for Tibet and Persecuted Minorities, US Tibet Committee, V-TAG United Kingdom, Tibetan Women's Association among others. Meanwhile, Dharamshala based Tibetan writer and activist Tenzin Tsundue said that it is unfortunate that a select group of Nepalese politicians are allowing the sacred land of Nepal for Chinese propaganda on Tibet. 'This is never the wish of the Nepalese people who are like brothers and sisters to the Tibetans inside Tibet, suffering under Chinese communist dictatorship. In the 7th century, Nepalese princess Bhrikuti Devi was offered as queen to emperor Songtsen Gampo of Tibet, not Xizang. Tibet may be under foreign occupation today, but tomorrow, when we re-established the entire country of 2.5 million km of land as Tibet, with what face will Nepal face the Dalai Lama?' he said.
New Indian Express
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New Indian Express
A Feather Like No Other
Nostalgia for schooldays or adolescence, while seeming obvious or omnipresent, is a privilege reserved for a few. For many, school is a space of ostracisation; a place that has aggravated their biggest insecurities, and caused irreparable damage to their selfhoods. Manohara K's debut film Mikka Bannada Hakki ( Bird of a Different Feather ), adapted from Sonia S' autobiography of the same title, is a film that explores precisely that. The film, set to be screened at Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival in May, has already received global recognition with five nominations at the Shanghai International Film Festival, the Best Kannada Film award at Bengaluru International Film Festival and the Spotlight award at the Alternativa Film Awards, Indonesia. With its protagonist, Sonia, being a young girl with albinism, Manohara explores how familial complexities and social stigma collude to target deviation, physical or psychological, at a very young age. Manohara is no stranger to the film industry, despite this being his debut directorial outing. Previously, he received the prestigious National Film Award for Best Child Artist for his starring role in Railway Children by Prithvi Konanur, who continues to be his mentor. When one watches Manohara's film, its sheer depth often clouds his precocity, making it easy to forget that the depth came from someone who's just 22. Commenting on his journey so far, he says, 'Prithvi [Konanur] sir is an inspiration to me. He suggested the story to me around 2019,' he says. An integral element of Mikka Bannada Hakki is its non-professional cast. Finding the correct candidate for the lead was an arduous task, as Manohara recalls, 'I found one girl but she wasn't allowed by her parents to be in the film. By God's grace, when I was scrolling through Instagram reels one day, I saw Jayashree who ended up playing the role; she was perfect,' he confesses. Manohara, who co-wrote the film with Sonia, explains that it turned out to be beyond the latter's autobiography, including elements of his own experience as well. Born to a farming household with skin that is, unlike Sonia's, dark, Manohara's childhood and schooling was riddled with bullying on socioeconomic and racial grounds. A buoyant Manohara, who believes that 'the work' offers more satisfaction than recognition itself, bares his heart, reflecting his values and work ethic. 'I didn't get many opportunities as an actor following the national award. I realised I had to stop chasing opportunities and start creating them,' he says. While Mikka Bannada Hakki does not have a public release yet, the team is hard at work to make that happen. 'We are planning. Schoolchildren and parents should watch this film. The government should also support this film and screen it all over Karnataka,' he says.
