Kathmandu – Filmmakers from different countries have been awarded at the Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) held in Kathmandu. More than 60 films from 31 countries participated in the competition, with the winners of 26 genres receiving cash prizes, trophies, and certificates.

The films selected by the jury were screened at five days festival. The films were screened at the Kathmandu-held on Tourism Board and National Assembly Hall. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense Ishwar Pokharel was the chief guest at the award ceremony.

In the international competition, the film ‘A Land Imagined’ (Singapore) directed by Yeo Siew Hua won the first best prize ‘Gautam Buddha Award’. The film received a trophy and a certificate along with a thousand dollars. ‘Meenapp’ (Indo-Bangladesh), directed and written by Subarna Sejuti Tussi, won 500 dollars, including the ‘Mount Everest Award’ for Best Short Film. The film ‘Komola Rocket’ (Bangladesh) won the ‘Jury award.’

In the national competition, the film ‘Mother’ (Maa) directed by Parichhed Sen won the Best Director award and ‘Dying Candle’ directed by Naresh Kumar KC won the Best Film award and Rabin Acharya won the Best Cinematographer award. ‘Panchayat’, directed and written by Shivam Adhikari, won the award for best screenplay, while ‘Super Monk’, directed by Shenang Gyamjo Tamang, won the award for best short film and Lawa Pyakurel won the award for Best Editor.

The festival was coordinated by senior director and actor Nir Shah (Nepal) and the judging members were renowned columnists and film critic Premendra Mazumder (India), Beijing Film Academy’s Professor Ling Chiao (China), Programmer at Cannes Film Festival Anne Delseth (France) and senior director, screenwriter and producer Nabin Subba (Nepal).