One of the things I love about living in Kathmandu is the burgeoning arts scene. It is a relatively small city so there are only a handful of venues but increasingly, there are cool events going on.
At the beginning of November was Jazzmandu, which I think is now in it's 10th year. It is jazz in a pretty broad sense bringing artists from all over the world and having a number of events around town including an afternoon/evening concert on the grounds of a fancy hotel just outside of the city which is like a mini one day festival.
I was excited to discover not one but two film festivals - Human Rights Film Week run by Human Rights Film Focus Nepal, a small locally based organisation run by volunteers that promotes human rights using film as a platform. The eight day festival featured over 30 screenings in six venues across the city - all for free! The films were from all over the world, mainly documentaries and all encompassing a perspective on human rights whether it was war refugees, victims of sex trafficking or people in some way fighting for their rights. I tried to catch as many of the films I could and found much inspiration in the work as well as what HRFFN are trying to do. They have a school outreach programme called "Shaking the Tree" where they are trying to raise awareness through reaching out to young people by bringing thought-provoking films to schools. I think what they are doing is really wonderful.
In addition, there is the more established Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) presenting it's 10th season. This is a four day event presenting a mixture of short and feature-length films from all over the world in two large venues in KTM. They will also present travelling KIMFF in the spring of 2013 where they take the best of of the fest and screen them around the country, primarily at outdoor venues with audiences of up to 2000 people. And who knows? Maybe one day, our film will be featured!
Before I got involved in film making, I spent many years working in theatre, so the Kathmandu International Theatre Festival was another treat. This is truly an international affair with plays in all different languages - some with English subtitles, others not. I went to see a Nepali/English play by One World Theatre, an English language theatre company based here. Until now I had heard of a theatre or two in town but had not checked them out. It is not massively a culture of theatre-going but I was impressed to see the audience was very mixed and probably more locals than not.
Just to round it off, we have Artmandu, the largest arts festival in Nepal, which is every three years. "This is about art for a social cause." This month long event features artists from all over the world - in addition to contemporary art, there are also film screenings and symposiums.
Combined, it is these sorts of events that incite creativity, and remind us how the arts can create positive change. I think it is an indication of things to come and the slowly changing face of modern Nepal (which is essentially still limited to Kathmandu), that there are so many of these events going on. In particular, reaching the youth who are the future. I can see that this renaissance could be attributed to the approach of a new era in Nepal, albeit coming slowly.
At the beginning of November was Jazzmandu, which I think is now in it's 10th year. It is jazz in a pretty broad sense bringing artists from all over the world and having a number of events around town including an afternoon/evening concert on the grounds of a fancy hotel just outside of the city which is like a mini one day festival.
I was excited to discover not one but two film festivals - Human Rights Film Week run by Human Rights Film Focus Nepal, a small locally based organisation run by volunteers that promotes human rights using film as a platform. The eight day festival featured over 30 screenings in six venues across the city - all for free! The films were from all over the world, mainly documentaries and all encompassing a perspective on human rights whether it was war refugees, victims of sex trafficking or people in some way fighting for their rights. I tried to catch as many of the films I could and found much inspiration in the work as well as what HRFFN are trying to do. They have a school outreach programme called "Shaking the Tree" where they are trying to raise awareness through reaching out to young people by bringing thought-provoking films to schools. I think what they are doing is really wonderful.
In addition, there is the more established Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) presenting it's 10th season. This is a four day event presenting a mixture of short and feature-length films from all over the world in two large venues in KTM. They will also present travelling KIMFF in the spring of 2013 where they take the best of of the fest and screen them around the country, primarily at outdoor venues with audiences of up to 2000 people. And who knows? Maybe one day, our film will be featured!
Before I got involved in film making, I spent many years working in theatre, so the Kathmandu International Theatre Festival was another treat. This is truly an international affair with plays in all different languages - some with English subtitles, others not. I went to see a Nepali/English play by One World Theatre, an English language theatre company based here. Until now I had heard of a theatre or two in town but had not checked them out. It is not massively a culture of theatre-going but I was impressed to see the audience was very mixed and probably more locals than not.
Just to round it off, we have Artmandu, the largest arts festival in Nepal, which is every three years. "This is about art for a social cause." This month long event features artists from all over the world - in addition to contemporary art, there are also film screenings and symposiums.
Combined, it is these sorts of events that incite creativity, and remind us how the arts can create positive change. I think it is an indication of things to come and the slowly changing face of modern Nepal (which is essentially still limited to Kathmandu), that there are so many of these events going on. In particular, reaching the youth who are the future. I can see that this renaissance could be attributed to the approach of a new era in Nepal, albeit coming slowly.
Kathmandu is really beautiful place . thanks for sharing , It is really beautiful . India Tour Operator
ReplyDeleteIt is a relatively small city so there are only a Tempo Traveller Services handful of venues but increasingly, there are cool events going on.
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