Bhaktapur to host film festival featuring independent cinema

Photo: Bhaktapur Film Festival organiser

Bhaktapur welcomes its first-ever film festival this week, showcasing 24 independent films and celebrating the city’s rich culture through cinema, and local storytelling

-the_farsight | March 16, 2026, 6:06 p.m.

The Bhaktapur Film Festival will take place on March 20 and 21 at the National Vocational Academy in Bhaktapur. The event will feature 24 films and is being organised by a collective of young filmmakers, including Safal Vaidya, Smit Giri, Kiran Kilambu, Bikesh Prajapati, Saksham KC, and Prawin Takki.

The festival will open with Gaun Aayeko Bato, directed by Naveen Subba. Other films in the lineup include Aina Jhyalko Putali by Sujit Bidari, Song of Clouds by Ankit Poudel, At Another Winter by Kiran Shrestha, Kalpavriksha by Diwash Paudel, Khil by Dipesh Magar, and Home By Ngima Gelu Sherpa, and What grows in Thari Maila’s Vegetable Garden by Patrika Ghimire.

Documentaries include Dhorpatan by Rajan Kathet and Sunir Pandey, Indra Jatra by Pradip Pandey and Memories and My Mother by Razeev Lamgade.

A short movie and a documentary focusing on Newa culture, Kija Puja by Sanish Maharjan and Newa Buddhism in Nepal - The Baha Bahis of Patan by Anupam Bajracharya and Anubhava Shrestha respectively will also be screened during the festival.

The closing film will be Mother Rebecca by Sandesh Bhurtel.

Beyond film screenings, the festival will feature a workshop on March 19 titled “Fundamentals of Stories”, led by filmmaker Keshab Pandey.

The festival is being organised by a collective of young filmmakers, including Kiran Kilambu, Safal Vaidya, Smit Giri, Bikesh Prajapati, Saksham KC, and Prabin Takki, and is expected to promote Bhaktapur’s art and culture along with providing platforms for independent cinema.