Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival is proud to announce its fourteenth edition will be held between 8 December and 12 December 2016.

This year’s selection includes an impressive list of more than 80 documentaries, fiction, shorts, experimental films and animation from filmmakers from 28 countries around the world.

From stories of adventure and adrenalin against difficult and unyielding terrains, to insights into the culture and traditions of mountainside communities and breathtaking scenes of the timeless majesty of nature, these films are fundamentally stories about hope, resilience and humility that will entertain, challenge and inspire audiences.

The festival will kick off with a bang with the Nepali premiere of Seto Surya (White Sun)​ co-hosted with Popcorn Pictures.

Directed by KIMFF veteran Deepak Rauniyar, the film tells a multi-generational story of a family and community who struggle to reconcile with socio-political changes in post conflict Nepal. Having premiered at the prestigious Venice International Film Festival and screened at more than a dozen

international film festivals, including Toronto, KIMFF Festival Director Ramyata Limbu says the KIMFF opening day Nepal premiere will be a “homecoming” for Deepak.

"We're extremely proud that one of our own is pursuing his passion for film while introducing creative and credible narratives from Nepal to local and international audiences."

Another notable return to the KIMFF lineup are filmmakers Miranda Morton and Sophie Dia Pegrum. In a world premiere, Daughters of the curved moon​ is a heart-warming generational perspective on women in Jumla and the ways in which they have transformed their communities.

MIRA,​ the story of Nepali trail runner Mira Rai, will be one of the more than 30 KIMFF films that tell stories of human courage, perseverance and adventure amongst the world’s mountains including the award-winning film, A line across the sky.

This year the Nepali Panorama will showcase films from local talent including; Blockade​ which captures the trials and tribulations of Nepalis during the winter of 2015, Hospital ​which gives an intimate behind-the-scenes insight into a state-run hospital in Kalikot and In Search of Devaki ​exposing the exploitative and damaging side of the Deuki system.

The international line-up explores universal themes of love, the search for the sacred in a changing landscapes, coming of age and climate change. Mi Yohav Oti Achshav (Who’s Gonna Love Me Now?) is an Israeli film on a young HIV-positive man’s attempts to negotiate dual identities as a homosexual and orthodox Jew, while Bakur (North),​ banned in Turkey, gives us the world’s first insight into Kurdish guerrillas belonging to the PKK. To mark international mountain day, KIMFF will offer a free screening of the Before The Flood,​ Leonardo DiCaprio's ground breaking climate change documentary. The screening is presented by WWF Nepal.

Organised by the Himal Association and promoted by Nepal Tourism Board, over five days KIMFF will be screening films at QFX Cinemas-Kumari and Russian Culture Center, Kamal Pokhari and facilitating the fascinating dialogue such a diverse range of film ensues.

The festival is sponsored by Alliance for Social Dialogue, IMS, ICIMOD, WWF and Toni Hagen Foundation Switzerland.

Supported by NMA, Sweetgrass Foundation, TAAN, Film Development Board, Thamserku Trekking, The Jane Goodall Institute Nepal, Alliance France Kathmandu and Himalaya Airlines.