Film Development Board of Nepal has unveiled a 10-point-document outlining its rules and regulation for the development of movie making in Nepal. The rules were distributed to the journalists in a press meet organized on Monday, March 12, 2012.

Note: Following is unofficial translation of Nepali text (attached below)

1. About Film Development Board being autonomous– A law will soon be passed to ensure the Board to be more powerful and functional.
2. About national film festival – National film festival to be held in Surkhet of Mid-Western region within the month of Chaitra.
3. About international film festival – An international film festival will be held in June 1, 2012.
4. About film censorship in the hall of the Board – Movies are being censored in the Board’s new movie theatre. The hall rental for Nepali movie is fixed at Rs. 1000 and for foreign movie, it is Rs. 3000.
5. About delegation of responsibility to the Board – The Ministry of Information and Communication has authorized the Board to determine movie show times in film halls. No movie hall is allowed to have a morning shows before 11:00 AM except for Saturday.
6. Networking for Box Office report and organized business practice – The Board will require every Nepali and foreign films to submit their income and progress report.
7. Management of production, re-production, sale and distribution of copyright of film and film related materials – Following are the regulations;
   1. The companies producing CD, DVD, VCD, VHS should obtain the production license for each of those films from the Film Development Board.
   2. Each CD, DVD, VCD, VHS should contain the hologram provided by the Film Development Board.
   3. If such materials are produced by the ones authorized by the Board, such companies will be punished according to Copyright Act 2059.
   4. The retailers and rentals of movies should get a 5-year license to sell or rent movies. They should renew the license every 5 years.
8. To make movie sector more reliable – The Board is planning to require movie makers to deposit some amount of money with the Board that will be released after the movie is censored.
9. Classification of cinema halls – The board has expanded the classification of cinema halls in addition to Video and Colloid. The classification is pending approval of the ministry.
10. On ethics of film producers, hall owner, distributors, and artists – The board will release the ethics of all involved in film making in future.

Out of  ten points three of them are rules the Board is going to implement. Three rules in point 5, point 6 and point 7.

Point 5 cancelation of morning shows says that it was an old rule that couldn’t be implemented. That shows the Board’s own failure to implement it’s rule in past.

Point 6 on Box Office needs a more detailed procedure and a powerful body to implement it. It seems, enough homework is not done on details on conflict resolution, legal provisions, and detailed procedure and practice for all the parties involved.

In point 7 implementation of hologram seems like a good idea to reduce piracy. Implementation might not be that easy. In addition, a 5-year license to sell or rent might pose another hurdle in terms of implementation and regulation. Prompt service and regular market assessment are the two most important aspects that will determine the success of such rules. It is surprising how could they have missed another most important aspect of piracy – online piracy.

These are some positive steps of the Board. But, implementation is still a challenge. All we can say is, "Good luck".

The original version of the press release (In Nepali) is attached below: