Kathmandu, Nepal – The College of Journalism and Mass Communication organized the first-ever African Film Festival in Nepal beginning May 23, running for three days and ending on the African Union's Africa Day program. The Universal Peace Federation of Nepal supported the festival along with the International Association for Women in Radio and Television, the Embassy of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and the Honorary Consul of the Republic of South Africa.
Ambassadors from Egypt and Russia, the Consul General of South Africa, a Cabinet Minister, a Member of Parliament, filmmakers, journalists, and students of journalism and film in Nepal attended the inauguration held at the Russian Cultural Center in the capital. There were nearly 170 people attending the opening session, while throughout the first day as many as 400 people came to see different films.
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UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has said that Africa Day “provides an annual opportunity to reflect on the challenges and achievements of the Governments and peoples of Africa.” This was evident in the selection of movies. Nine films from six African nations were selected. Films came from the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Kenya, South Africa, Uganda, and Zambia. The Nepal Francophone Society supported by sending films for the festival. There was one film from Nepal. (See the list of films below.)
Hon. Agni Sapkota, the Minister for Information and Communication, was the chief guest at the program. He noted that films have the ability to bring about powerful social changes, more often than economic and political factors, because through movies people’s attitudes change rather easily. The Minister highlighted the fact that, “This program is bringing together two continents: Asia and Africa.”
Hon. Ek Nath Dhakal, President of Universal Peace Federation-Nepal, explained that the film festival was not a stand-alone event. “There is a vertical, spiritual element to this festival,” he said, and gave several reasons for this rather surprising statement.
Nepal, at present, is in political turmoil. With just four days to go before the end of the one-year extension of the current parliament on May 28 and no constitution in sight, there are daily strikes (called bandhas) launched by political parties and ethnic groups. On these days communal life is crippled; shops close and public transportation is non-existent.
Amazingly Nepal’s first film festival was sandwiched between two nationwide strikes, one on Sunday and another on Tuesday. In fact, a strike had also been called for the day of the festival, Monday, but it was called off at the last minute, late Sunday night. Therefore, the spiritual element Hon. Dhakal referred to was not some mysterious mystical phenomenon; it was more like Moses dividing the Red Sea. The African Film Festival seemed to divide political protests.
UPF’s participation also brought the magnitude of this event in a small, landlocked Himalayan nation to the global level. Nepal’s first film festival would be connected to the Africa Union’s celebrations in New York City and elsewhere and reported to millions of people around the world.
Hon. Dhakal, a Member of Parliament, explained how this festival relates to his nation’s current political situation: “Here in Nepal we are going through a very critical transitional period in our nation. There is something we can learn about Africa from this film festival that can help us move forward [in Nepal’s peace process].”
To make his point, he stressed the accomplishments of two African “heroes”: Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu. Mandela, who was the leader of the armed wing of the African National Congress, overcame bitter resentment over the injustice of apartheid and his 28 years of imprisonment. He did this by putting the nation above himself and even above his own political party to prevent a bloodbath in South Africa.
Tutu headed up the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and had to find a way to balance justice with forgiveness. In the process he needed to avoid retaliation and appeasement. Both South Africans received the Nobel Peace Prize, and both examples are relevant in Nepal’s current quandary.
The College of Journalism and Mass Communication as the organizer took the lead role in planning and preparing the event. The director and founder of the college, Dr. Manju Mishra, repeatedly announced to skeptics that the film festival would happen and its purpose was “to show the real African culture and its lifestyle to Nepal.”
She said that films are a mirror and reflection of a culture. In line with this thinking, the subtitle for this three-day festival of films was “Seeing Africa through African Lens.” Dr. Mishra sees this program as one step to building a university of journalism in Nepal. Because of the success of this unique initiative, few doubt her now.
The College of Journalism and Mass Communication and its African partners are part of a media network under FK Norway (Fredskorpset), which arranges reciprocal exchanges of personnel between organizations in Norway and developing countries. Its objective is to contribute to lasting improvements in economic, social and political conditions in the world. In the partnership program each organization annually sends two participants to be hosted by a partner organization in the network.
In 2011 CJMC hosted two participants from Africa: Apalat Catherine from Uganda Media Women Association and Yvonne Otieno from the Association of Media Women Kenya. It sent two of its participants, Nageena Jha and Gita Chaudry, to Tanzania and Zambia respectively. In Nepal under the supervision and together with Dr. Manju Mishra, the two participants' main responsibility included the organizing and fundraising for this African Film Festival. Other women media partners in the organization include Zambia Media Women Association, Tanzania Media Women’s Association, and Ethiopia Media Women’s Association. The Nepal Francophone Society supported by sending films for the festival.
Yvonne Otieno said that although there are less than one hundred Africans living in Nepal, nevertheless, this three-day program brought Africans together. The two women received certificates in recognition of their efforts from the Minister for Information and Communication.
May 25 is celebrated internationally as Africa Day. This is also the closing day of Nepal’s first African Film Festival. List of films:
- Egypt: Hasan and Morqos (about religious tolerance)
- South Africa: Cry Freedom (overcoming racism)
- Kenya: Osutua (a word meaning peace from the Massai, a tribe in Kenya)
- Kenya: Tough Choices (teen pregnancy and HIV/AIDS)
- Uganda: Down this Road I Walk (early marriage in Africa)
- Uganda: Hearts in Pieces (the role of dowry in Africa)
- Zambia: Suwi (a young girl overcoming modern-day challenges)
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Congo River (challenges of water transportation)
- Democratic Republic of Congo: Katanga Business (investing in African resources)
- Nepal: In Search of Riyal (the struggle to survive abroad)