The Eighth Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) wrapped up with big wins for Nepali cinema, celebrating talent from home and around the world.
Major National Winners
The film Crawling Crows—Aankha took home the biggest honor, winning Best National Feature Film along with a cash prize of Rs100,000 and a trophy.
Actor RK Mehta won Best Actor (Male) for his performance in the same film, while Zaun Yonzan was awarded Best International Screenwriter for the movie.
Other National Highlights
The powerful film Pujar Sarki was another big winner. Actress Anjana Baraili won Best Actress (Female) for her role, and Dinesh Raut received the Best Director award. Additionally, Rajesh Shrestha won Best Cinematographer for his work on Pujar Sarki.
International and Short Film Winners
Shambala, directed by Min Bahadur Bham, was honored with the Gautam Buddha Award for Best Narrative Feature Film.
The Best Short Film title went to The Witness Tree by Nirajan Raj Bhetwal, while A Witness by Nishan Khatri earned the Best Director (Short Film) award.
Documentary Awards
Devi, directed by Subina Shrestha, was named Best Documentary.
The Mt. Everest Award for Best International Documentary went to Melting Snow by Mojtaba Bahadori, along with a $1,000 prize.
Audience Choice Awards
Viewers also had their say. Satidevi by Laxman Subedi won the Audience Choice Best Feature Film, while Girls Rewriting Destiny by Lawa Pyakurel was chosen as Best Documentary by the audience.
International Recognition
The Bagmati Award for Best International Short Film was awarded to Spanish filmmaker Lucía G Romero, with a $500 cash prize.
From Argentina, The Abyss won the Manjushree Award for Best AI Film, earning $500.
The International Federation of Film Society—Don Quixote Award for Best Feature Film went to the Indian movie Rukmini, directed by Nilay Prashant Raje.
About the Festival
The Eighth NIFF, organized by the Nepal Film and Cultural Academy, showcased 87 films from 40 countries, making it a grand celebration of cinema from around the globe.