Lalteen is a combination of two films, Sarir directed by Abinash Bikram Shah, which deals with the story of lesbian love and Chatkal by Kshitiz Adhiraj narrates the story of a man who decides to take off on journey of soul searching amidst the political unrest of Nepal in 2005. [break]
The Lalteen project said to be built around the theme of contemporary life in Nepal is produced by Short Film Factory, and aims to cater towards establishing independent cinema of form and market in Nepal.
Selected from an open pitch between professional filmmakers in Nepal, Lalteen is Nepal’s first collaborative project with Gotenburg International Film Festival Fund.
The film is produced by filmmaker Kshitiz Adhiraj with Harke Films sharing its banner along with Docskool for the production.
The second day of the fest featured discussions and screenings. Among numerous other screenings, Raater Bioscope a film by Tuninabha Majumdar showcased under the Cine Queer section of the Symposium, the very first exclusive Queer film screening in Nepal gathered huge applauses.
According to the organizers, “Queer cinema from the world has often stood at the benchmark of raising some of the most important questions on social authority, the need for change and the quest of the filmmaker to discover more shall be featured on this section.”
The audiences for the film were members of Blue Diamond Society BDS, who engaged themselves in an active discussion post the screenings.
They shared their personal experiences as well. Other films included Pampeliska, from America and Czech Republic, Khara Karodpati and Khwaab from India, Irfan and Drift from UK, Living from Singapore and Nino Live from Sri Lanka.
The second day of the film festival also held a discussion on Nepali Cinema of the 90’s; in conversation with senior directors of the Nepali film industry, Tulsi Ghimire and Neer Shah.
The fest that began on Friday November 18 will continue until Monday November 21.
The tickets to various film screenings are available at respective venues, Gurukul Purano Baneshwor and Nepal Tourism Board, Exhibition Road.
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