Report 2004

Dear film and mountain enthusiasts,

The Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival is over. KIMFF 2004 was a grand success with about 7000 people attending. Chief Guest Nawang Tenzing Jangbu, Rimpoche of Tengboche Monastery, opened the third edition of the festival with remarks on the social, religious and economic importance of mountains and the need for peace.

Eminent geographer and noted author of several books on the Himalaya, keynote speaker Dr Harka Gurung presented a comprehensive overview of the Himalaya - providing the audience with much food for thought.

Nima Temba Sherpa , a film from the Netherlands by Margriet Jansesn won the Audience Award. Other close contenders were Travellers and Magicians from Bhutan, On the Road with the Red God: Machhendranath from Nepal, Wildness from Australia and Never Ending Thermal from Canada.

Film screenings aside, other satellite activities of KIMFF 2004 went off well. The Shoot Like a Pro workshop saw Nepali filmmakers Nabin Subba, Tsering Rhitar, Sapana Sakya give interested individuals pointers on how to conceptualise, visualise, and edit a good film. Know Your Himal quiz master Kunda Dixit’s collection of slides, including satellite imagery, unusual views of Nepal’s celebrity mountains and topography kept a full house guessing – each correct answer was awarded a KIMFF 2004

T-shirt specially designed by our US-based artist and designer Subhas Rai. Subhas also designed the KIMFF 2004 poster. An on-the-spot art contest for children on International Mountain Day, 11 December, resulted in a charming collection of paintings based on a mountain theme that were exhibited at the venue. The photo exhibition Alps & Himalayas - Yesterday and Today drew interesting comparisons between two different mountain regions while eminent botanist Dr. Tirtha Bahadur Shrestha’s slide and lecture presentation on Nepal’s floral heritage gave audience an insight into the country’s unique biodiversity.

KIMFF 2004 could not have been possible without the voluntary contribution of time and energy by film lovers from near and far, and the support of the Swiss Development Agency for Cooperation SDC, Eco Himal, International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development ICIMOD, Nepal Tourism Board, the Film Development Board, HMG, and Yeti Airlines, as well as equipment loans from several Kathmandu-based organizations.

The biggest thank you, though, goes to the filmmakers whose works were screened at KIMFF 2004 and to the nearly two-dozen filmmakers who attended from various parts of the globe.

See you in 2006.

Ramyata Limbu
Ferstival Director

December 2004.