Second Kathmandu Horror Film Fest opens at Russian House in Kathmandu

• Festival features 26 films from 21 countries as Nepal representative reaches final of international film pitching competition

KATHMANDU: The second Kathmandu Horror Film Fest (KHFF) opened at the Russian House in Kathmandu on Friday. The festival is screening 26 films from 21 countries, including eight feature films and 18 short films.

The festival, organised by the Nepal Film and Cultural Academy (NFCA) in collaboration with Cinemakers, is being hosted and supported by the Russian House for the second consecutive year.

The opening ceremony was attended by Film Development Board Chairperson Manish Pandit as chief guest, Counsellor of the Russian Embassy in Nepal and Head of the Rossotrudnichestvo Representation in Nepal Anastasia Khokhlova, NFCA Chairperson KP Pathak, Deputy Chief of Mission at the Embassy of Japan in Nepal Yasuharu Shinto, First Secretary at the Embassy of Pakistan in Nepal Waqas Ahmed, and Festival Director Rashik Pathak.

Addressing the gathering, Khokhlova thanked the organisers, volunteers and Russian House staff, saying the festival remains a unique event in Nepal. She noted that cooperation between the Russian House and NFCA extends beyond KHFF, including collaboration on the Nepal International Film Festival, where the Russian House is serving as one of the official venues this year.

Khokhlova also said a representative from Nepal has become one of only two finalists selected from dozens of international participants in the film pitching competition 'Cinema as a Tool Against Future Shock', organised as part of the 3rd International Symposium 'Creating the Future'. The final is scheduled for November 12 at the National Center 'Russia'.

She expressed hope that the Nepali participant and team would travel to Russia to strengthen cooperation, gain further filmmaking experience and share their expertise with international peers.

Russia is represented at the festival by the competition short film 'A.L.I.C.E.' directed by Maxim Chebotarev and 'The Wind' by Sergey Chliyants. The executive producer of 'The Wind', Alexander Ostroverkh-Kvanchiani, travelled from Russia to attend the opening ceremony.

'The Wind', a philosophical drama, will have its first screening in Nepal on October 31 at 10:00 am with free entry. The film's executive producer is scheduled to introduce the screening.

The festival opened with 'In This Darkness I See You', directed by Nadim Tabet and produced through a collaboration among Lebanon, France, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. The film follows a young Syrian deserter who takes a job at a construction site near a Lebanese village, where a series of unusual events begins to unfold. According to the director, despite its dark themes, the film is above all a love story.

A traditional lamp-lighting ceremony marked the formal opening of the festival, symbolising light overcoming darkness. The programme also featured a piano performance by Sarthak Manandhar, who played works by Tchaikovsky and Kornelyuk, followed by a Lakhey dance performance.