22 December 2020, Kathmandu
The fourth Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF), scheduled to take place next February, has been postponed for two months. According to the Nepal Film and Cultural Foundation, NIFF is now being conducted from 23 to 27 April because of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Filmmakers from all over the world were invited to participate in the festival on a pre-arranged date by the organizers. More than 400 movies from 52 countries have applied for participation, according to the organizers. On March 25, the list of films selected will be made public.
Due to the outbreak, even though they want to, filmmakers are not willing to participate in the festival. We do not believe that the virtual alternative is very effective.,’ said KP Pathak, chairman of the NIFF.
The Gautama Buddha Award will win the best feature film in the international competition, with a value of USD 1.500. On behalf of an IFSS jury of the international federation of film societies, the film will receive the Don Quijote Award. On the international side, the Mount Everest Award for best documentary is USD 1,000, USD 750 & Manjushree Award is for the best-animated film and likely Bagmati Arwad & USD 500 is awarded for a best short film.
International filmmakers must submit films to (www.filmfreeway.com) to take part in the festival. Short and documentary movies are to be charged USD 15 and feature films USD 20 under the international competition. In addition, by paying USD 10, a film about the epidemic will participate. Under the Nepalese rivalry, however, no fee is applicable.
Further, the best feature film will earn Rs. 1 Lakh Cash and the best short film in Nepal will be provided with the Rs. 50,000 Cash. The best short film director will also be awarded a trophy. Besides these trophies, authors, filmmakers, actors, and actresses in the film genre will be awarded for the best film directors.