This week, the only new release is a documentary ‘Who Will Be a Gurkha ‘ (or, in Nepali ‘Ko Banchha Lahure’). The documentary is made on the recruitment of new cadets in the British Gurkha Camp in Pokhara. The documentary film made by Kesan Gseten was selected in various film festivals and it was also the winners in some of them.
‘Who Will Be a Gurkha’ is jointly produced by Shunyata Films Production and Gongaju Films. There aren’t any central characters and it features interviews and details on the cadets who want to get recruited in the British Army.
The honors the documentary has achieved so far:
- Official selection for Feature Length Documentary at IDFA (International Documentary Festival of Amsterdam ’12)
- Official Selection Thessaloniki Documentary Festival
- Official Selection Eurodocs, Oslo
- Winner, International Category, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival ’12
- Winner, Audience Award, Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival ’12
For the last 200 years Britain has been recruiting Nepali youth to serve it’s Gurkha Regiment. Gurkha are famous for wielding a curved khukuri knife and they have fought in numerous wars in the history. In the two World Wars, some 200,000 Gurkha were sent in battle field. Out of them, 50,000 were killed.
The salary and the pension of a Gurkha although a fraction of their British counterpart, has helped in Nepali economy. The documentary highlights the recruitment procedure, it’s root and the youths who want to get recruited.
The documentary features the cinematography of Ranu Ghosh, Gairik Sarkar, Kesang Tseten, and Yuv Gurung. The music is composed by Lasse Enersen and the documentary is edited by Ranu Ghosh and Jyoti Rana.
In Kathmandu another new release is Rejina Upreti‘s ‘Bardan’. The movie was released in theaters out of Kathmandu last week and as agreed with other film makers, the movie is solo release in Kathmandu.
