5th Nepal Rural Film Festival to be Held in Sarlahi

Kathmandu. The fifth edition of the 'Nepal Rural Film Festival' is set to be held in Sarlahi. The festival, scheduled from Baisakh 15 to 17, will take place in Chandranagar Rural Municipality of Sarlahi district in Madhesh Province. An agreement regarding the hosting of the festival has been reached between Chandranagar Rural Municipality Chairman Rajkumar Mahato and Raghunath Sapkota, Chairman of the organizing body, Celebrity Nepal Foundation.

Embracing the slogan 'Himal, Pahad, Tarai, kohi chhaina parai' (Mountains, Hills, Terai, no one is an outsider), the organizers stated that after successfully hosting previous editions in the hilly regions, the festival is now being expanded to the Terai. Aimed at promoting rural stories, local culture, and community-centric cinema, the festival seeks to strengthen the concept of 'cinema for all' by engaging audiences, creators, and communities in the Terai region.

Initiated as a campaign to bring cinema to villages, this festival has been presenting stories, traditions, costumes, languages, and lifestyles of rural settings on national and international platforms. By fulfilling the slogan 'Our village, our story, our cinema,' it will continue its efforts to unite the country's three geographical regions.

Over 50 applications have been received for films based on original Nepali rural themes, including feature films, short films, and works in various languages. Selected films will be screened at the festival, and awards will be presented to the best entries in various categories.

Short films, documentaries, feature films, and multilingual movies reflecting rural life will be screened free of charge for local audiences. The organizers announced that the official selection list will be made public within the next week.

Chairman Sapkota stated that the main objectives of the festival are to increase audience interest in original Nepali cinema, develop a regular habit of watching films, take rural-based cinema to the international level, and promote local language, art, culture, and tourism.