Toni Hagen Documentary Grant winners at KIMFF 2019

This year at KIMFF, Toni Hagen Documentary Grant Film winners showed their movies on December 13, 2019, at Rashtriya Sabha Griha. There were three Grant winners this year namely, Grishma Giri with Blues of pink, Pradeep Dhakal with Gaine, and Rajeela Shreshtha with Chitrapuri Nagar.

The screening was held under the 19th Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) was held from December 11- 15, 2019. KIMFF this year also aimed to celebrate the complexity and diversity of mountain life.

Despite the challenging gloomy weather of the day, the event turned out to be extremely welcoming with the room filled with interactive audiences.

About Toni Hagen Grant

Photo Courtesy: Toni Hagen Foundation

Toni Hagen (1917- 2003) was a Swiss geologist and development philosopher.  He was the first foreigner to trek throughout Nepal and introduced it to the world. For decades, he was involved in writing history, stories, about people, and the economy of Nepal.

He even engaged himself in traveling to introduce the geographical features of Nepal not only to the world but also to Nepali people. In honor of Hagen, The Toni Hagen Foundation was established in 2001.

The Foundation supports activities that enhance the knowledge of the Himalayan region among the Nepali people. Here the Foundation defines theHimalayas including both plains on the south to the Tibetan plateau on the north.

The Foun dation seeks to promote the spread of knowledge about the various cultural strands of Nepal.

Highlights of the Grant Winners at KIMFF

Photo: Aakriti Sharma

Pradeep Dhakal’s Gaine was based on the lifestyle of Gandharva singers, known as Gaine, in the Terai region. It was a 30-minute long documentary that focused on the stories from two different generations of folk singers.

However, according to Dhakal, it was intended to cover from an angle of three generations’ experiences, “It was quite challenging to show all three different stories in just 30 minutes, so we will soon have a longer version of this coming.” Cinematically, the documentary showed the potentiality of Nepali cinematographers to level up slowly.

Meanwhile, Grishma Giri’s Blues of Pink was a story about a transgender from Janakpur. She beautifully shed light on the lifestyle of Sapana (Uday Mandal), including her family, her work and even her struggles of living as a transgender. The documentary was also 30 minutes long and had quite impressive cinematic shots.

This one was emotionally-driven and showed how transgenders fight with themselves and society for their existence. Sapana also had attended the event, creating an inspiring moment to see her confidently standing in front of the crowd.

Last but not least, Rajeela Shrestha’s Chitrapuri Nagar was about the Chitlang and its historical importance. Her documentary was only 15 minutes long but had an impressive storytelling approach within a short amount of time.

Her film included Chitlang’s history of Tribhuvan highway, its economic situation, the cultural highlights, and lifestyle of the place. This documentary justified the use of archive photos and videos, including footage from Google earth, and some meaningful drone shots.