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S. Asian documentary film fest opens in Kathmandu
Deepak Goel
KATHMANDU:
The 1999 edition of film South Asia, the biennial festival of documentaries from various parts of the South Asian, was inaugurated here on Thursday by noted Indian director and poet Gulzar and Nepali Culture Minister Sharad Singh Bhandari.
The festival, the only South Asian documentary film festival in the world bring together the best documentaries made over the past two years in Bangladesh, India, Nepali, Pakistan and Sri Lanka as well as those made elsewhere dealing with South Asian subjects.
Organised by the Himal Association and Himal magazine, the festival is the second after the inaugural one two years ago and features in the competition section forty documentaries and five shorts; most of which are slated to be presented by the filmmakers themselves.
In addition, Film South Asia ‘99 also features seven more documentaries in the non-competitive section and these 52 films would be screened back-to-back over the next three days at the end of which a three-member- jury would be announcing awards for excellence. Three outstanding films would be awarded citations and cash prizes of $2000, $1000 and $500 in order of merit, according to festival director Manesh Shreshtha.
The jury comprises internationally-acclaimed director Gautam Ghose from India, Pakistani theatre-TV- film personality Salaman Shahid and Neloufer de Mel, Sri Lankan academic and social commentator.
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