KATHMANDU: The 8th Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) is to be held in Kathmandu from Chaitra 7 to Chaitra 11. Organizer Nepal Film and Cultural Foundation has stated that all preparations for the festival are completed. The jury committee for this year includes director Dipendra Gauchan as chairman of the documentary and short film section, actor Suraksha Pant, editor and director Raksha Singh Rana, film editor and critic Rita Dutta, director Liu Jian, and actor Jamal Shah.

Following the tradition of screening a country’s films during the festival, Russian Film Day will be held on the third day, Chaitra 9, where three Russian films will be screened. Three Audience Choice Awards and an AI Award will also be awarded this year. Voting for the Audience Choice Award will be accessible through the Khalti app until Chaitra 11 at 4 PM.

The festival inauguration will be on 20th March 2025 at 1:30 PM at QFX Civil Mall with Speaker of National Assembly Narayan Prasad Dahal as the chief guest. “Shambala” directed by Meen bahadur Bam will be the opening movie. The closing ceremony will be on Chaitra 11 by Minister of Communications and Information Technology Prithvishubba Gurung.
The theme of the festival will be “A Celebration of Stories from Around the World,” and it will have 87 films from 40 countries. Most of the movies are already shown in big film festivals like Busan, Cannes, Locarno, and Berlin. AI-based or AI-created movies will also get a competition this time.

Festival awards include Gautam Buddha Award for Best International Feature Film of $1,500, Mount Everest Award for Best International Documentary of $1,000, and Bagmati Award for Best International Short Film of $500. AI Film Award shall receive the Manjushree Award of $500. Nepali competition categories will also have cash prizes and trophies, like Rs 100,000 for Best Feature Film, and Rs 50,000 for Best Short Film and Best Documentary. In addition to international visitors, the festival will also see the arrival of over 50 foreign filmmakers.