The final and one of the best-attended films was Red Monsoon directed by Eelum Dixit on fourth day. As Kathmandu Valley awaits the rain, its people seek deliverance - through affection, empathy, fraud and subterfuge. It is hard for Karuna to believe that her husband, Krishna, is seeking gratification in someone else's arms, and when her friend Anushka suggests as much, she resists. Chetana, battling her own feelings of loss, reaches out for Krishna's extended hands. Against the clamorous backdrop of the age-old Machhendranath festival, a thoroughly contemporary drama plays out in the courtyards of Patan.
Through these characters, we get a glimpse into a society in transition, where individuals are left to fend for themselves in the anonymity of the city. The film is steeped with the angst of uncertainty created by an economy in the doldrums, with the anger of youth, and with the befuddlement of elders, as protagonists try to adjust to new realities, some with a care for ethics and some without. The air is pregnant with possibilities, but the rains do not arrive in Red Monsoon.
The fourth day of the Kathmandu International Film Festival 2013 began with the screening of "LIFE AT ALTITUDE", a film by Qiao Yan at City Hall today. The film is about a Chinese Woman, Wang Jing who plans to summit Nuptse (7861 m) without oxygen-aid. Previously, there had only been 20 summit records, and none from China. But the day before she left, she receives some sobering news. A Russian mountaineer died on his ascent to Everest without oxygen aid, and a Taiwanese trekker was trapped on Lhotse. Despite all the external anxiety, Wang Jing still departs on her quest. After ten hours of climbing, without oxygen aid, Wang Jing successfully summits Nuptse. She still continues to the top of the Everest when she encounters an 80 year-old mountaineer from Japan, Yuichiro Miura.
The second screening of the day, 'ANTIM YATRA', a film by Keshab Pande, grabbed huge attention of the audience. The film is about conflict affected families who lay their dead to rest.Other included 'TO SING TO LIVE', by Qiao Yan, 'WHEN HARI GOT MARRIED', by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, and 'THE JOURNEY FOR HAPPINESS', by Marie Veno Thesbjerg were some of the highly acknowledged films.
KIMFF 2013 features 47 films from 20 countries, interactive discussions, and exhibitions.