Irena Taskovski virtually in Nepal

Ever since she witnessed the violent disintegration of her country, and after fleeing war-torn Bosnia at the age of 17, Irena Taskovski has used the medium of film to promote peace and understanding between cultures. 

She graduated from the Prague Film Academy (FAMU) and later the National Film and Television School outside London, and since has been helping produce and distribute many award-winning films, including Kesang Tseten’s 2012 documentary Who Will be a Gurkha about the recruitment process in Pokhara.

Taskovski’s focus has been to encourage authentic local stories told through non-fiction films like Bruce Lee and the Outlaw about the dark underbelly of Bucharest, or following children in Nepal reconnecting with the land of their birth Children of the Snow Land. 

Taskovski will be guiding a series of four masterclasses on film production at Nepal’s Pame Film and Music Festival 5-8 November which has been showcasing independent film-makers from Nepal and abroad for the past four years. The 2020 edition was forced to go virtual, and screened 30 short, feature and documentary films from nine countries, as well as conducting online training and masterclasses.


“From an early age, I was interested in doing something related to the creative arts,” Irena told us long-distance via WhatsApp. 

She says she eventually found her true calling in film production after discovering that acting was not the right fit. With a lot of moving parts, film production was challenging and exciting because it supported all others kinds of professions in a film. 

Asked about doing the Pame masterclasses, Taskovski says: “With me things always work out.” 

It was the explosive fragmentation of her homeland, Bosnia, that made Taskovski determined to give back to society, and work towards human understanding and tolerance through film. 

“I was even more inspired to dedicate my life to work which will bring peace and understanding among different cultures,” says the producer who founded Taskovski Films 20 years ago.

This philosophy has promoted her to help produce films with cross boundary themes, and share powerful messages of survival and struggle. Her films have ranged from North America, Europe, and Asia, including Nepal.

Taskovski’s films have been screened at more than 1,000 festivals worldwide in the past two decades, including the Berlin International Film Festival, IDFA, Sheffield International Documentary Festival among many others. The 2004 documentary Czech Dream, a thought-provoking documentary on how marketing campaigns are manipulating people, was awarded the best non-fiction film at Michael Moore’s film festival in 2005. 

More than anything, she sees films promoting not just art but a larger cause. Films could be a way to connect cultures, to support societies, help overcome differences and dispel fears, she says.

“We as human beings on this planet are meant to live together, embrace diversity in human unity and meant to take care of the planet,” says Taskovski, “film is a tool to make our societies live in peace.” 

Her passion for film has meant pushing boundaries in search for bold ideas, discovering new talent and authorial stories. And that has come with its rewards. Taskovski Films now represents films of Oscar nominees like of Petra Costa, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Radu Jude, Helena Trestikova among many other award-winning directors. 

"You need to be smart and think about how one can make the authentic local story have a universal message so that people in different countries can also benefit from it,” says Taskovski who recently wrapped up co-producing The Golden Thread by Indian filmmaker Nistha Jain.  

Asked about the message she will be imparting at the Pame masterclass next month, Paskovksi says: “The way to succeed in life, as in filmmaking, is to believe in everything you really really want and put all your intentions into it. Everything in life is possible.”

Irena Taskovski will be conducting a series of four masterclasses from 5 to 8 November 2020. For more information visit Pame Festival of Film and Music’s Facebook page. The virtual classes are being organised by Pame Festival with Taskovski Films and The Film School Pokhara and is made possible by British Council Nepal and the Nepal Film Development Board.