Film South Asia 2011 From Today: Festival of South Asian Documentaries

The eighth edition of Film Southasia, the festival of Southasian documentaries is going to kick off today (on Thursday, 29 September) at Kumari Cinema, in Kamal Pokhari with Journey to Yarsa at 12 PM. The film by Dipendra Bhandari tells the story of a family from Rukum joining the harsh expedition to collect yarsagumba in the high Himal. The opening will be graced by the eminent Bangladeshi filmmaker Catherine Masud.

Film South Asia (FSA)  ’11 will showcase 36 outstanding non-fiction films, selected from nearly 400 entries received, from all over Southasia. Selected films are from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Burma, India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and the Tibet Autonomous Region. Six of the films being shown will have their Southasia premieres at FSA ’11. Altogether 20 filmmakers are expected to participate in FSA ’11, who will lead discussions after screenings.

The film adjudged the best by the jury will receive the Ram Bahadur Trophy, which carries with it a cash award of USD 2,000. The Second Best Film carries USD 1,000, and the same amount is also given with the Best Debut Filmmaker.

"FSA is now into its 15^th year. We have evolved as the main non-fiction film event of Southasia. The Kathmandu audience has been very supportive. This year, too, we expect full houses in both halls of Kumari Cinema over the four days of the festival,” says Co-director of FSA ’11, Upasana Shrestha. “With nearly 400 entries this year the selection process took well over 3 months. FSA is delighted to present 36 of the finest documentaries at the festival. We hope to have stimulating discussions at the side events.”

Ojashwi Thami, Co-director of FSA ’11, says, “With this year’s festival slogan of ‘Documentary is Cinema!’ FSA is proud to present great films which will provide the Kathmandu audience with a truly ‘cinematic’ experience.”

The three-member Jury of FSA ’11 will be chaired by Satish Sharma, renowned Indian photographer, writer, and curator. The other two members of the jury are Igor Blaževič, founder of the One World film festival, the largest human rights festival in Europe and Manesh Shreshta, educator, journalist and former director of FSA.

Films with Nepali subjects at FSA ’11 include Kesang Tseten's Saving Dolma, Stefano Levis’s Out of the Darkness, Aurore Laurent and Adrien Viel’s Aadesh Baba and Dipendra Bhandari’s Journey to Yarsa as the opening film. Some of the well-known directors who will be present at FSA ’11 include: Anand Patwardhan, Kesang Tseten, Paromita Vohra, Saba Dewan, Simon Chambers, Anjali Monterio and KP Jayasankar.

Film Southasia 2011; Festival of South Asian Documentaries

Venue: Kumari Cinema, Kamal Pokhari Kathmandu

Date: 29th September to 2nd October

Ticket: Rs. 50  (Opening Ceremony only for invitee)

Screening Schedule can be found here.