The 14th instalment of the European Union Film Festival brings to Nepali audiences European storytellers, emerging Nepali filmmakers and their work in celebration of the shared language of cinema. Films will be screened 14-16 November in Kathmandu, followed by Pokhara from 21-23 November. This year’s EUFF features 25 films, including 10 European features, six BAFTA-nominated shorts, and nine Nepali short films that explore universal themes of identity and belonging. “We didn’t set out with a defined ‘theme’, but as the films started coming together, a pattern emerged, stories of belonging, migration, resistance, and quiet transformations,” says Prasuna Dongol, program director and curator of the festival. “It’s interesting to see those reflections across continents, showing that even though we’re worlds apart, we’re asking the same questions,” Dongol adds. The festival is organised by the EU Delegation to Nepal, in collaboration with embassies and cultural institutions representing EU members in Kathmandu and Delhi, as well as the British Council and UNESCO. The EU selection will showcase films from Portugal, Austria, Finland, the Netherlands, Ireland, the UK, Lithuania, France, Italy, Romania, Hungary, Poland, and Switzerland. The films by young Nepalis, rooted in everyday small towns, friendship, or growing up in a country in transition, mirror the motifs of the selected films that tell stories of life across Europe. Dongol adds: “Our goal was to showcase how young Nepali filmmakers are engaging with ideas of identity, place, and change in ways that feel both personal and globally resonant.” In the lead-up to the festival, conversations were held about Nepal’s evolving film industry, and how storytellers navigate filmmaking as both art and business. Organisers plan to introduce interactive side events including networking spaces and informal markets. A four day workshop brought together 10 emerging Nepali filmmakers to explore how to take their films from idea to market. Participants discussed why film festivals matter, how funding works, and how to build sustainable collaborations without compromising on creativity. Meanwhile, at the British Council and UNESCO’s ‘What Next for the Film Industry?’ roundtable on 12 November, filmmakers, policymakers, and researchers discussed the findings of the recent UNESCO Baseline Assessment of the Cultural and Creative Industries (CCI) of the Valley. “Film festivals like this are not just about watching films; they’re about expanding perspective and networking,” says Dongol. “If someone discovers a new filmmaker they love or feels inspired to tell their own story differently, that’s a success for us.” <h2>WATCHLIST</h2> <h2>Happy</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_bea2f7f1aa998adb05b38d6912fc968204ed592d9bb375edbe163ef0223f1d30.png" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2025111312118_bea2f7f1aa998adb05b38d6912fc968204ed592d9bb375edbe163ef0223f1d30" data-rendition-name="original" width="1222" height="605" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  An undocumented Indian immigrant in Austria strives for a happy life for his daughter amidst the threat of deportation, revealing the shared quest for happiness in those who seem to have it all. 110 mins | Austria Director: Sandeep Kumar <h2>Jeʹvida</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_d19893069ba768408600bf14072c6858f963827be0feb3b2bcfdd60b2528bbf1.png" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2025111312118_d19893069ba768408600bf14072c6858f963827be0feb3b2bcfdd60b2528bbf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1078" height="613" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Sanna and her aunt Iida, who have never met before, drive to Lapland to empty a house they’ve both inherited. The house invokes painful memories in Iida, and Sanna learns of her withdrawn and distrusting aunt’s ordeal during the forced assimilation into Finnish society. 104 mins | Finland Katja Gauriloff <h2>Three Kilometres to the End of the World</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_2a737dd7092e827965065f54eb6e96db873c5c77597f65392f7c9d616ba6a585.png" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2025111312118_2a737dd7092e827965065f54eb6e96db873c5c77597f65392f7c9d616ba6a585" data-rendition-name="original" width="1078" height="617" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Adi is spending the summer in his home village in the Danube Delta when he is brutally attacked one night. In the aftermath, his parents no longer look at him as they did, and the seeming tranquility of the village starts to crack. 104 mins | Romania Director: Emanuel Parvu <h2>The Last Expedition</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_c9b46e481a46734bc332d30da21465e1d50807f39b54ebe1525a7f3889df855d.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2025111312118_c9b46e481a46734bc332d30da21465e1d50807f39b54ebe1525a7f3889df855d" data-rendition-name="original" width="1500" height="844" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Wanda Rutkiewicz, the most famous Polish mountaineer, went missing on 13 May 1992 on her way to Kangchenjunga. As past events are confronted with theories of Wanda’s disappearance, questions emerge– is it possible that she is still alive? 86 mins | Poland, Switzerland Director: Eliza Kubarska <h2>Wander to Wonder</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_bd6a0b3494565fed5f86707572064d8b6dd70532f7e352d9b871f3824db3f083.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2025111312118_bd6a0b3494565fed5f86707572064d8b6dd70532f7e352d9b871f3824db3f083" data-rendition-name="original" width="3840" height="2160" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Three miniature actors who starred in a children’s tv show are left alone in the studio after the show’s creator dies, leading them to continue making increasingly strange episodes for their fans. 14 mins | France, Belgium, United Kingdom and the Netherlands Director: Nina Gantz <h2>Stomach Bug</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_980ed53441602df9c8df913e1f5de9abbf9b537953f8b77df074ed4bb0b52109.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="2025111312118_980ed53441602df9c8df913e1f5de9abbf9b537953f8b77df074ed4bb0b52109" data-rendition-name="original" width="3240" height="2160" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  The life of a fifty-something Chinese father, whose daughter moves out and who feels invisible in British society, unravels as his loneliness manifests physically. 15 mins | United Kingdom Director: Matty Crawford <h2>The Kathmandu</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_85299c1df8dbff3264720f8b2c01cc0633732f32fd1885c30230111ab23ef2ce.png" data-media-id="editor_6" data-image-id="2025111312118_85299c1df8dbff3264720f8b2c01cc0633732f32fd1885c30230111ab23ef2ce" data-rendition-name="original" width="1440" height="640" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  A young musician’s dream city turns into a nightmare when his reflection comes to life, and begins living his life. 6 min | Nepal Director: Nying Hyolmo <h2>What grows in Thari Maila’s Vegetable Garden?</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_3a46e16703144323a733a2beeadde1322e99abcabb53522fb980e54eac7e50dd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="2025111312118_3a46e16703144323a733a2beeadde1322e99abcabb53522fb980e54eac7e50dd" data-rendition-name="original" width="3840" height="2160" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Thari Maila and wife live off of their thriving vegetable garden, but the lush garden hides secrets beneath its surface, as innocence gives way to quiet unease. 14 min | Nepal Director: Patrika Ghimire <h2>Abyss</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_eb40d3fcd85bcd01552481dc1d478d133cf758a45598bce0f268ecedcbb1b177.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="2025111312118_eb40d3fcd85bcd01552481dc1d478d133cf758a45598bce0f268ecedcbb1b177" data-rendition-name="original" width="2880" height="2160" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  Richa and Dhiraj, a couple who have just had a newborn, confront the depths of love and pain as Richa struggles with postpartum depression. 13 mins | Nepal Director: Akriti Dhungana <h2>Eternal Kinship</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_638750880715567980ce7654d3b103e202cec2ce6740051927278666d5f4b2f4.png" data-media-id="editor_9" data-image-id="2025111312118_638750880715567980ce7654d3b103e202cec2ce6740051927278666d5f4b2f4" data-rendition-name="original" width="826" height="612" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  A boy’s fear of crossing a river becomes a journey toward courage and self-discovery. 11 mins | Nepal Director: Arvin Rai <h2>SCHEDULE</h2>  <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_dad4593c61a147fed1a19e2c1724f3d4edc4dc7267e476b770723d4f40738b05.png" data-media-id="editor_10" data-image-id="2025111312118_dad4593c61a147fed1a19e2c1724f3d4edc4dc7267e476b770723d4f40738b05" data-rendition-name="original" width="1199" height="851" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>   <figure><img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2025111312118_e29696f8a489f5fedf3d044ae23fd2eb4c0f30acd5094754a67a666d06de07d3.png" data-media-id="editor_11" data-image-id="2025111312118_e29696f8a489f5fedf3d044ae23fd2eb4c0f30acd5094754a67a666d06de07d3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1200" height="852" loading="lazy" alt="EUFF 2025 NT"></figure>  The 14th European Union Film Festival Nepal 14 – 16 November, QFX Chhaya Center, Kathmandu 21 – 23 November, QFX Trade Mall, Pokhara All screenings free

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Cinema’s shared language

Taken in totality, Nepali mainstream cinema concerns itself with a specific ideological inclination, a tendency towards ‘melodramatic realism’.
Disguised as social realism, this is cinema of affirmation cloaked in the language of critique. This tendency is not indigenous but inherited: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Lights-camera-copy-paste,1146">a diluted echo and imitation of Bollywood</a>.&nbsp;
Film directors, driven by the understandable desire for commercial viability, have adopted Bollywood's worst tendencies: its emotional maximalism and narrative predictability. But they have done so without the budget, without its system, without its technicality.
The result is cinema that mimics form without function. The cinematography with its saturated colour and glamour-obsessed image is an aesthetic colonisation. Let us name it what it is: a cinema of sympathy.
<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/powerful-movie-upacks-questions-of-identity">Social injustice</a> is not interrogated but assumed. Suffering is not resisted but aestheticised. Characters do not struggle to change the world, they endure it. They are saints in ragged clothes, martyrs in the mountains, whose nobility lies in their passivity. In this cinema, pain is purity, and purity is always poor.
These films are said to reflect contemporary society—but they do so in the way a mirror reflects a dream: distorted, beautified, bathed in the light of sentimentalism. They portray not society as it is, but as it feels to remember. What we have, then, is not realism, but a kind of sentimental mythos.
The culprits are not hard to find. They are the most celebrated directors of our time. Their films win national awards, their actors become stars. Yet what unites them all — from rural dramedies like Kabaddi, family melodramas like Prasad, or soft-issue social parables like Saili — is a fundamental conservatism of narrative logic.&nbsp;
If there is politics, it is personal. If there is history, it is just the setting. Society, in these films, is static. The caste system, the labour exodus, gendered violence, these are presented as conditions of nature, not conditions of power. To suffer within them is to be good, to fight against them would be, it seems, impolite.
What defines this tendency is its inability to dramatise complexity. The films are either naively dualistic or neurotically symbolic. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/she-is-the-story">Women are either goddesses or ghosts</a>. Men are either stoic heroes or cartoonish predators. The poor are noble. The rich are cruel. Nothing is ambiguous. Nothing is difficult. Nothing is allowed to breathe.
Most insidious is the rise of populist humour, that soft, crowd-pleasing comedy which diffuses even the most tragic premises, like a nervous laugh at a funeral. Laughter that is not disruptive.&nbsp;
This humour, often rooted in exaggerated dialect, village caricature, or romantic incompetence, serves to neutralise discomfort. It appears not only in comedies but in ‘social drama’, where it functions as an emotional pressure valve. A girl is nearly sold into marriage — but wait, here comes the lovable drunk uncle with a one-liner.&nbsp;
The humour, while infectious , mocks just the symptoms like arranged marriage and patriarchal values, but not the structures themselves. There is no class struggle here, only romantic miscommunication. When misogyny appears, it is played for laughs, when caste lines emerge, they're side-stepped in favour of musical reconciliation.&nbsp;
Politicians are corrupt, yes, but hilariously so. Systemic failure is rendered absurd, not grotesque. Their jokes are universal. But in avoiding discomfort, they also avoid depth. They laugh with the people, not for them.
But why are we laughing? And what are we laughing at? If the answer is that we are laughing without bitterness and rage, at our own condition, then our cinema is no longer a mirror but a lullaby.
Even stylistically, the image is clean but unimaginative, the dialogue is moralistic, almost liturgical. The endings are too often redemptive, even when they pretend to be tragic. One watches these films not to be challenged, but to be comforted: to be reminded that pain is meaningful, that goodness suffers, that, in the end, Nepal is still beautiful.
But cinema is not therapy. It is not the job of film to make pain feel poetic. To reduce our political and economic trauma to matters of individual heartbreak is not just aesthetically lazy, it is dangerous. This is how ideology works: not through propaganda, but through sentiment.&nbsp;
The films, by making injustice feel tragic instead of intolerable, teach audiences not to resist reality, but to accept it.&nbsp;
This is not to say that all cinema is compromised. There are filmmakers, few but growing—who refuse the consolation of melodrama, like Min Bahadur Bham's <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/must-see/Kalo-pothi-review,3101">The Black Hen</a>, and Sujit Bidari's <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepali-new-wave-cinema">Butterfly on the Windowpane</a>, which create spaces of silence, of interiority. Their characters are not metaphors, but people. Their conflicts are not tidy, their resolutions are not redemptive. In short, they resist the tendency.
But <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/min-bahadur-bham-s-cinematic-quest">these exceptions only highlight the rule</a>. The mainstream appetite, whether among producers or the public, still favours the emotionally saturated, the morally clear and the forced humour.&nbsp;
"Show Nepal," they say. "Make it cry. Make it real. But not too real."
What has become of anger in our cinema? What has become of satire, irony, provocation? Where are the films that disrupt rather than reflect? That confront the audience, rather than embrace them?&nbsp;
If art is meant to mirror society, then what society are we mirroring? A quiet one, perhaps, a stoic one, a beautiful one. But not a just one.
This is the paradox of our cinema: in trying so hard to reflect the people, it forgets to challenge them. In trying to represent suffering, it aestheticises it. In trying to honour tradition, it enshrines conservatism.
Cinema should not be devotional. It should not be a hymn. It must be a question. And until directors begin to ask those questions — not in press kits, but in the language of cinema itself — we will remain, for all fanfare and film festivals, a national cinema without a national consciousness. &nbsp;
Abishek Budhathoki is a multidisciplináry artist specialising in media and mass culture. He has directed a number of short films and has also worked on feature films and documentaries.

Nepali cinema’s melodramatic realism

Nepali films have in the past often portrayed women in limited, one-dimensional roles: selfless mothers, obedient wives, or victims of abuse.&nbsp; Nepal’s very first feature film, Ama was a pioneering drama portraying the socio-political landscape of the 1960s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mob-movement-and-mayhem">Panchayat era Nepal</a>. But it reinforced traditional <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/hop-over-the-gender-gap">gender roles</a> where women are caregivers, who silently bear emotional labour, while men are protectors and providers. The mother’s strength is portrayed in her endurance in separation from her soldier son, but she still exists largely just there to support the male protagonist’s journey. “A man was always the hero, that was the norm. Women are either victimised or their struggles are over sensitised,” says<a href="https://www.shantanepaliproductions.com/"> Shanta Nepali</a>, director and cinematographer. “Many have raised awareness through their films, but when it comes to true representation of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/quality-of-equality-for-women">women’s issues</a>, we are still far behind.” Plan International Nepal in a <a href="https://plan-international.org/uploads/sites/79/2022/02/womenincinema_3.pdf">research paper </a>breaks down Matighar directed by BS Thapa and starring Bollywood star Mala Sinha into three acts: first where Maya is a romantic lead who is soon widowed and abandoned, she is then forced to flee with her young son and work in a brothel, and finally she seeks a better future for her son.&nbsp; In the end, Maya is accepted back into society but essentially through mercy, highlighting the film’s theme of domesticity as a woman’s rightful place. Not much has changed since the early days of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-qfx-cinema-needs-a-happy-ending">Nepali cinema</a>, although there have been some recent attempts to alter the <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/uncategorized/stereotyping-women-as-victims">stereotype</a>. “Women are still largely seen as eye candy, sidekicks, or an element of glamour rather than a central character driving the story. Their portrayal remains superficial, lacking depth and complexity,” says theatre director and actor Akanchha Karki of <a href="http://kathaghera.com//">Katha Ghera</a>. “There has been some progress in recent years, but not nearly enough.” More recent movies like Shambhala and Rajagunj have tried to break through the mould. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/min-bahadur-bham-s-cinematic-quest">Min Bahadur Bham</a>’s Shambhala is centred around a complex female character defined not just by men around her but her own ambitions and struggles. Pema played by <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-star-shines-in-locarno">Thinley Lhamo </a>is an active agent of her own story of self-discovery in the face of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/perpetuating-patriarchy-in-nepal">patriarchy</a>. Rajagunj directed by Deepak Rauniyar follows inspector Pooja Thapa who is sent to a Madhes town to investigate the kidnapping of two boys amidst <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/regular-columns/Comment/southern-nepal-in-middle-of-a-humanitarian-crisis,579">political unrest and violent protests</a>.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20250329140320_22bd4b6cb901014afb3d166dc4d9e56217f049f3a024d6cd11025fc9c981986f.jpg" data-media-id="editor_12" data-image-id="20250329140320_22bd4b6cb901014afb3d166dc4d9e56217f049f3a024d6cd11025fc9c981986f" data-rendition-name="original" width="5796" height="3870" loading="lazy" alt="Rajagunj"> <figcaption>Still from Rajagunj </figcaption> </figure>  Read also:<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/powerful-movie-upacks-questions-of-identity"> Powerful movie upacks questions of identity</a>, Sophia L. Pandé Even the 2001 film Numafung by Nabin Subba stands out for an empowering portrayal of women, and a rare glimpse of Limbu customs. After being widowed early, Numafung is expected to marry her late husband’s younger brother but defies tradition in the pursuit of her own independence.&nbsp; Although the 2019 film Xira directed by Ashutosh Raj Shrestha was critically panned, it did introduce an action-oriented, assertive, revenge-driven female protagonist played by Namrata Sharma. Nepali cinema often takes<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Lights-camera-copy-paste,1146"> inspiration from Bollywood</a> which has also seen a shift in how women are portrayed. Older films like Pink directed by Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury critiqued societal prejudices against independent women as well as emphasised the importance of consent. Last year’s Laapata Ladies directed by Kiran Rao was a critical and commercial success. Through slice-of-life storytelling, the satirical drama set in rural India advocates <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/the-goal-is-empowerment-and-independence-of-women">women’s empowerment</a>, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/latest/sisterhoods-empowering-education-in-nepal?fb_comment_id=4994256443922836_5028381260510354">education</a>, and <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/placing-nepali-women-first-past-the-post">equality</a>. Meanwhile, Mrs, a Hindi adaptation of The Great Indian Kitchen, follows a young woman after an arranged marriage in which she finds her aspirations suppressed. A big part of the reason behind often stereotypical portrayals of women on screen is the lack of female filmmakers, directors, writers, and producers. “Many women who started alongside me are no longer in the field, people try to break you mentally,” says Shanta Nepali. “I also faced caste discrimination, so it is even more difficult for women from marginalised communities.” Nepali is creating platforms such as the Nepali Female Filmmakers’ Community for women to actively engage in the field. She adds: “Even men struggle in this industry but when a woman says she wants to direct, the discouragement outweighs the support. It feels like going to war.” Anjila is a recent biopic based on the real-life journey of Anjila Tumbapo Subba, the captain and goalkeeper of national women’s football team. Subba plays herself, and the movie depicts her struggles and achievements in a male-dominated field.&nbsp; Akanchha Karki says that women-centric films often struggle at the box office. Audience preference for action-packed, masala drama discourages <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/taking-nepali-literature-to-the-world">nuanced narrative</a> as well as reinforces the traditional beauty standards, perpetuating unrealistic ideals.&nbsp; “Producers and directors don’t invest in them because they don’t do as well, making it harder to break the cycle,” explains Karki. “Even current women filmmakers in the field often feel compelled to prioritise commercial viability over authentic <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/they-have-stories-to-yell">storytelling</a>.”

She is the story

There was controlled chaos at the Chhaya Centre on 8 September before the premiere of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N2EXOwDgrIg&amp;t=25s">Shambhala</a>, which has made history as the first South Asian film to be selected for the 2023 Berlinale in-competition lineup in three decades. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm5336883/">Director Min Bahadur Bham</a> ran around, dreadlocks flailing, to test the DCP in the projection room and welcome an all-star lineup of guests. Even so, he found time to sit down with us for an interview in a quiet corner in the lobby. Despite visible signs of stress, Bham’s passion for his craft shines through. The premiere was the culmination of years of work, but as Bham tells it, the true essence of filmmaking is the journey itself.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912100956_fe4bb576edb2f6ca22d460c425a8b9fdf8d3855dd4e9cac9e13fb56a69094cdd.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="20240912100956_fe4bb576edb2f6ca22d460c425a8b9fdf8d3855dd4e9cac9e13fb56a69094cdd" data-rendition-name="original" width="616" height="585" loading="lazy" alt="Min Bham NT 3 "> </figure>  Min Bahadur Bham, 40, was born in isolated Mugu. As a boy he already knew he wanted to be a film director after his photographer and journalist father bought a cinema hall in his hometown.&nbsp; While watching Bollywood movies there, his friends all wanted to be actors and would imitate the mannerisms of their favourite stars. But Bham craved something more.&nbsp; “Even back then, I wondered who tells the actors what to do. There must be someone guiding and coordinating their performance,” he says. “I didn’t know at the time that it was done by a director, but I instinctively felt that was the person I wanted to be.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/a-director-from-kathmandu">A director from Kathmandu</a>, Sewa Bhattarai This early fascination set Bham on a journey that would take him far, far away from Mugu. In Grade 8 he was already saving money for film school, and by Grade 10 he had run away from home. He started in theatre in Kathmandu, learning acting, lighting, set design, and costume. This theatre background proved to be formative and influenced his later approach to cinema. “If I had to choose, I’d still give more points to theatre,” he tells us. “It’s a pure art form, it has a poetic and an artistic sense to it, requiring discipline and hard work, unlike the finances and glamour of cinema.” Beyond filmmaking, Bham developed a deep interest in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/medication-to-meditation-in-the-mountains">spirituality</a>. “Creating art is a form of meditation,” Bham says, his eyes shimmering with intensity. “Filmmaking, like meditation, requires pouring all of yourself into it.” His debut feature,<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/must-see/Kalo-pothi-review,3101"> Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen)</a> premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2015, earning critical acclaim for its nuanced portrayal of two boys caught in the crossfire of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/banner/all-is-fair-in-war-and-peace">Nepal’s Maoist insurgency</a>. The film’s success, however, left Bham ambivalent.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912110924_b4333fc1aeefc7adc6160a183f0dfc8ca5ee8cd66df6eab085f47436d83c8c4b.jpg" data-media-id="editor_7" data-image-id="20240912110924_b4333fc1aeefc7adc6160a183f0dfc8ca5ee8cd66df6eab085f47436d83c8c4b" data-rendition-name="original" width="1442" height="1008" loading="lazy" alt="Movie posters NT"> </figure>  “I felt burdened by the success," he confides. “Looking back, I’m critical about its lack of cinematic language: it felt more like a film essay.”&nbsp; Read more: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Narrating-stories-of-nepal,3082">Narrating Nepal</a>, Smriti Basnet Kalo Pothi was a personal story of Bham’s own memories when his friends in school were joining the Maoists, and he heard of the disappearances. A recurring theme in both Kalo Pothi and Shambhala is childhood. “All the characters in my films are reflections of myself,” Bham confesses. “Of course, they’re manipulated for the sake of the narrative, but their essence is drawn from my own childhood when I was very fragile and introverted.” As a boy, instead of playing with children his age, Bham preferred hanging out with older people, listening to their stories: “I missed out on a normal childhood, but had a wonderful one nonetheless.” These early experiences, the memories and nostalgia, became invaluable storytelling tools for cinema, and his PhD in anthropology was an asset as well. “As a filmmaker, it’s essential to grasp the nuances of human behaviour, culture, and politics,” he explains.&nbsp; Before Kalo Pothi, Bham wanted to study political science to get a &nbsp;deeper, holistic understanding of what was happening in Nepali society at the time.&nbsp; But it is with Shambhala that Bham truly comes into his own as a director. "Kalo Pothi was my love letter to my society, and Shambhala is a love letter to my existence,” he says.&nbsp; Shambhala benefits from Bham’s own spiritual journey. He started meditating at age 12, becoming a more serious practitioner by 15. “Through meditation, I began having vivid recurring dreams of a past life as a lama in a monastery in Dolpo,” he says.&nbsp; Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/daughter-of-chomolungma">Daughter of Chomolungma</a>, Pinki Sris Rana He travelled to Dolpo, where the terrain and people matched the dreamscape of the places from his meditation. “It was a surreal moment,” he says. “That’s when I realised I had to make Shambhala, to explore the subconscious and discover what I didn’t know.” When the film was selected for the Berlinale, Bham admits he was not very excited, perhaps because he was confident it was going to go places. In Berlin he did not attend any parties, cancelling all interviews and official meetings.&nbsp; “I wanted to be at peace and simply observe. I didn’t want to get caught up in the networking or the festivities,” he recalls. Though polyandry is a central element of Shambhala, Bham says it only serves as a backdrop to an inner quest into the meaning of existence, femininity and reincarnation. “Dolpo offers such incredible landscape that you can point the camera at anything and it will be stunning,” he says. “But it was not a love story, so I used the mountains as characters themselves.” Read also: <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/review/streaming-the-himalaya-on-film">Streaming the Himalaya on film</a>, Pinki Sris Rana The film’s protagonist is Pema (played by<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/nepal-s-star-shines-in-locarno"> Thinley Lhamo</a> for which she won the<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0iCvN6jHVMQ&amp;t=973s"> Boccalino d’Oro Prize for Best Acting Performance at Locarno</a> last month) whose power and freedom challenge patriarchal norms.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20240912110944_491763c06fc1827cd131157b9b3750c9831ee8252fb1d378769dc800170c7f67.jpg" data-media-id="editor_13" data-image-id="20240912110944_491763c06fc1827cd131157b9b3750c9831ee8252fb1d378769dc800170c7f67" data-rendition-name="original" width="1080" height="719" loading="lazy" alt="Berlin film festival NT"> </figure>  “Pema’s character is a reflection of inner strength and independence, transcending gender,” Bham explains. “As a male director, I also wanted to explore my feminine side to understand it more deeply.”&nbsp; Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/feminity-to-masculinity,1952">From femininity to masculinity</a>, Bernardo Michael and George Varughese He adds that, in Shambhala the male characters reflect aspects of himself, while Pema represents his feminine side: “Developing the characters, I made sure the male side did not overshadow the feminine side in me.” Bham is researching ideas for his next film which might, for a change, be set in Kathmandu or Angkor Wat to discover his artistic sensibility, irrespective of locale.&nbsp; More than a geographical journey, Min Bahadur Bham is on an artistic voyage deep into his inner being to find the meaning of existence itself. &nbsp; Shambhala is set to release on 13 September in cinemas with Nepali and English subtitles.

Min Bahadur Bham’s cinematic quest

On location in Pokhara

<img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29ac9c7e80680e0458dejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="1500" height="1000"/>Given his multinational background, it was perhaps inevitable that it would be Pema Dhondup would make the first truly global Nepali feature film. Dhondup’s family moved down from Tibet to Jomsom after the Chinese annexation, and from there to Himachal Pradesh and cities across India. He has been living in the United States for the past 15 years.His movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5364878/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The Man from Kathmandu</a> is shot in Kathmandu and Los Angeles, features a stellar cast of Nepali actors like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm4542007/?ref_=tt_cl_t8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Karma</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0787463/?ref_=tt_cl_t11" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Neer Shah</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1200073/?ref_=tt_cl_t6" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Mithila Sharma</a>, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm7273293/?ref_=tt_cl_t5" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anna Sharma</a> and international stars including <a href="https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004109/?ref_=tt_cl_t1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Gulshan Grover</a> from India, and other actors from Puerto Rico and Spain."Many people from across the world travel to be a part of the <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/thebrief/page/87/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">terrorist group ISIS</a>, even educated men from Western countries. But so far not a single one of them has been a Nepali," says Dhondup, “I wanted to explore the story of that one man among thousands. I wanted to find out what is it about Kathmandu that brings about this phenomenon."Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/animated-in-nepal/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Animated in Nepal</a>, Sikuma RaiTheme of his film is interaction between man and city, how Kathmandu changes the outlook of a radical half-Hindu-half-Muslim protagonist. Terrorism is just the backdrop to the plot, the real story is of a man's journey.To be sure, making Kathmandu the setting for this movie seems unusual, since Dhondhup is not Nepali and does not speak the language. And the film itself seems to be an effort on the part of the director to come to terms with his own identity and the definition of ‘home’."You can say the quest has ended in a way for me, in the form of my American passport. But does that really define who I am?" he asks.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/2022110811114/636a29af9c7e80680e0458dfjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="2000" height="1376"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>We interview Dhondup in the Labim Mall office of the film’s producer Nakim Uddin of QFX. Despite his globe-trotting, the director says Kathmandu was the only city he could have filmed his story in. He has fond memories of Kathmandu from his childhood when he came here to visit family members, and in those days it was as exotic as visiting a foreign country."This is a place where identities and cultures are always in flux. In any other city, you immediately know who is who, what a particular person's origins are. But in Kathmandu, walk down a street and you cannot figure out people. Temples, monasteries, churches and mosques flourish side by side. The city has accepted and absorbed all kinds of identities," he adds.The theme of The Man from Kathmandu actually follows on from Dhondup's earlier movies where he explored the question of identity. His 2004 movie <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0452541/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">We're No Monks</a> was about a group of Tibetan boys coming out of their secluded existence to face the world. His documentaries have profiled members of the Tibetan diaspora scattered all over the world."It is very hard to make it in American filmdom, and not because of the reason you may be thinking," Dhondhup explains. "Being brown, or of any race, doesn't matter as much as you might expect. But it matters how well you fit into the capitalistic, money machine of Hollywood studios. If you fit, you can make progress. If you don't fit, and you want to experiment you will have a hard time."Still, years of working in Hollywood has given a certain rigour to his work which he feels is necessary for <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Lights-camera-copy-paste,1146" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Nepali cinema</a> to make it on the global stage. Many Nepali films are still formulaic stories, but Dhondhup says that is not the real problem."No matter what kind of film you make, it has to be up to international technical standards, of sound, visual, editing, otherwise we have everything in Nepal to make world class cinema, from good actors to good equipment. Using these, we can tap into huge market in India and China just next door," he says.Whether or not The Man from Kathmandu will be ‘world cinema from Nepal’ and is of international standard remains to be seen. But Dhondup says it is already global in a sense that it meets technical specifications, and is set to be released in 50 countries after its Nepal premier this week. Dhondup hopes to continue working in Nepali cinema with Nakim Uddin, grooming and helping a new generation of Nepali filmmakers.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kMvpmY7zfoYThe movie will be in cinemas in Nepal from 15 March.

A director from Kathmandu

Who is accountable for teacher-student relationships?

Early on Monday morning, a bus from Pokhara to Kathmandu plunged off the highway in Dhading killing 19 passengers. Two weeks ago, another bus fell into the Tama Kosi in Manthali, killing 12. A few days before that a bus crash in Baitadi killed 13 people.&nbsp; In just the month before Nepal's election, more than 50 people have been killed in road traffic accidents. Most of these cannot be called 'accidents'. They are a direct result of poorly maintained highways and lack of enforcement of traffic discipline. Political parties in Nepal have rolled out their election manifestos, and voters are once again presented with a flood of promises. Page after page, these documents list megawatts and microcredit, highways and airports, jobs and investment. In these manifestos, growth is quantified, projects itemised, revenue forecast — and there are even threats to beat up contractors who do not finish their jobs. But when everything is declared a priority the stale promises are empty. The voter is left confused as to where the party’s loyalties really lie. Will any of these plans and pledges actually ever materialise and help Nepalis live longer, safer, healthier lives? The main job of any accountable government is to protect its citizens, not so much from foreign enemies but from domestic mismanagement. And this means the most basic test the new government should be made to pass is whether it can ensure basic well-being and protection for all its people. The problems of safety, health, and survival remain unresolved for most Nepalis, and are quietly eroding their lives. In the past year alone, the country’s <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/roadkill">roads and highways claimed more than 2,300</a> lives. An estimated 41,000 Nepalis die each year directly because of <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/what-is-invisible-is-more-dangerous">air pollution</a>, and their <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/air-pollution-killing-season-starts-early">lifespans are lessened by 3.4 years</a>.&nbsp; <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/editorial/poor-health">Non-communicable diseases</a> now account for well over half of total deaths in the country. And even where survival has improved, deprivation remains. Chronic malnutrition continues to haunt communities in <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/mass-migration-from-muktikot">Nepal’s western mountains</a> despite progress in maternal and child health.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0.jpg" data-media-id="editor_5" data-image-id="20260223130240_4f4ef83a31c3c4ae36ecdffb33a355e2fa3de9e98244b840a895af2d95c35ac0" data-rendition-name="original" width="1024" height="683" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  These are the lived realities of most Nepalis, and it is here that development can deliver its most immediate returns. A rising GDP, in and of itself, does not make roads safer, clean polluted air, or provide enough nutrition to children. Such outcomes demand intentional, granular policies that confront the specific, everyday problems shaping people’s lives.&nbsp; Macroeconomic growth, trade and investment are important, but these alone cannot guarantee improvements health and safety. The word ‘growth’, after all, is also synonymous with malignancy. Economic progress and human protection are correlated only when governance deliberately links them. Impact on life is the unit in which ordinary Nepalis calculate progress. What is needed, then, is a governing philosophy measurable in these same terms: a ‘life-first’ standard where every policy, budget, and reform can be understood and judged by its impact on protecting and extending human life. Such a ‘life-first’ approach would scrutinise three aspects of every policy. First, whether the policy prevents loss of life. A death is termed preventable if better, more coordinated response systems and regulations could have avoided it (vaccines, drugs, road safety, clean drinking water). A newly built six-lane highway <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/highway-accidents-are-no-accident-in-nepal">can be a death trap</a> due to poor design or lax enforcement of safety rules. If neonatal deaths continue in a district despite hospitals being present, or if malnutrition claims lives in predominantly agricultural regions, they too are failures. Preventable deaths also cluster where accountability is less direct. Just last year, <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/suicides-a-pandemic-within-a-pandemic">Nepal recorded 6,866 suicides</a>, with nearly 20 lives lost every day, yet these deaths fail to prompt any serious examination of governance. The same holds for fatalities linked to domestic or communal violence, alcohol and substance misuse, or ‘natural’ disasters, which register as ‘tragedies without remedy’ rather than as outcomes policy can influence. But when avoidable loss of life recurs at scale, isolated incidents become patterns, and patterns reveal systemic neglect. Saving lives, however, is only the first step, and what matters just as much is the quality of years lived. Nepal’s life expectancy now stands at 71 years, yet many citizens spend years in avoidable disability, untreated chronic illness, or mental distress. A life- first government must ask not only whether people live, but whether they thrive. Are citizens able to pursue education, work, and family life without fear of preventable harm? Do communities have access to clean air and water, nutritious food, and basic healthcare? Can a teenager anywhere in Nepal imagine a future not foreclosed by premature marriage, or untreated depression?  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940.jpg" data-media-id="editor_8" data-image-id="20260223130240_157d72b80b82a07699b6bffbb30036b86f0f767a5674cc3db3d5c20343442940" data-rendition-name="original" width="2529" height="1427" loading="lazy" alt="A life-first manifesto for Nepal NT"> </figure>  Thriving requires policies that prevent suffering and promote well-being in addition to ensuring survival.&nbsp; Finally, governance must consider graceful aging. Elderly Nepalis should not be left to navigate disease, poverty, or isolation alone. Social systems, healthcare, and community support must enable their continued participation and dignified well-being. Adopting this three-layered standard would gradually reorient how success of any new government is defined. Transportation would be judged by fatalities reduced on the roads. Electricity generation would be measured by whether households can switch from firewood dependence to smoke-free electric stoves.&nbsp; Increase in annual rice harvest must translate into better nutrition, reducing the prevalence of chronic diseases like diabetes. Accountability must follow problems rather than stop at Singha Darbar. Only then will politicians and bureaucrats eventually recognise that their work converges on the same human endpoint. Critics will argue that economies are complex, trade-offs are inevitable, and that governance cannot be reduced to a single metric.But, as Acemoglu and Robinson show in their book <a href="https://ia801506.us.archive.org/27/items/WhyNationsFailTheOriginsODaronAcemoglu/Why-Nations-Fail_-The-Origins-o-Daron-Acemoglu.pdf">Why Nations Fail</a>, the key difference between prosperity and poverty lies in inclusive institutions that empower citizens and create broad incentives for well-being.&nbsp; Extractive institutions concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few while keeping the majority trapped in neglect. Nepal’s governance has remained a striking example of extraction. If lawmakers in the new Parliament continue to resist changes that would save and improve the lives of ordinary citizens, the same systemic rot will persist for generations to come. A life-first mentality can cut through this inertia by clarifying the moral centre of governance and reminding policymakers that behind every policy failure lies human cost. <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/here-now/epicentre-of-hunger">Every mother in Bajura</a> with a child going hungry at night, every farmer in the Madhes unable to afford medical care, and every family that has lost <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/opinion/comment/saving-kidneys-to-save-nepal">a migrant son to kidney failure</a> understands the true <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/multimedia/dirty-dangerous-difficult-and-dehydrating">value of a life saved</a>. Life is the one metric that transcends ideology, ethnicity, and region. Centering governance on this single, focused metric, can shift an election from a contest of rhetoric to a contest of evidence. Which party ensured access to safe water and basic healthcare? Which made work at home and abroad safer and less exploitative. Which measurably extended healthy years of life for ordinary citizens? Health is wealth. By improving the healthy lifespan of citizens economic prosperity would follow naturally. A ‘life-first’ governance model would therefore compel Nepal to address the underlying structural failures across all sectors, rather than merely alleviating their symptoms. The GenZ protest that toppled the government last September was, at its core, a demand for accountability and a rejection of politics as usual. But as the country edges closer to the polls, that clarity has started to dissipate. Parties are now echoing the language of reform, but the public discourse remains dominated by promises that feel disconnected from Nepal’s most immediate and basic priorities. Every preventable death, every hungry child, and every neglected elder becomes a direct failure of governance and a moral debt the state must answer for. It is how we can make sure we keep the next government in check. The writers are Nepali GenZ students of biomedical engineering at the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.

Nepal’s life or death election

Chronic winter drought and decades of unmanaged forest biomass have turned wildfires into a systemic risk for Nepal. We need to re-learn to convert fire fuel in forests into fertilizer for crops.&nbsp; On 11 January, a huge forest fire spread rapidly from China into the forests of Sindhupalchok, 40km northeast of Kathmandu. The newly-opened Tatopani border checkpoint was closed. Smoke from the fire spread across central Nepal, blocking the sun.&nbsp; The fire burnt itself out within a few days, but the border stayed closed for longer. Such wildfires were once rare in mid-winter, and traditionally peaked between March and May as temperatures rose ahead of pre-monsoon showers. What is unsettling is not just the early onset of the fires, but also their scale. This shift is not accidental, the pattern has been unfolding over years due to winter drought, weakening post-monsoon moisture, and the accumulation of dry forest biomass as Nepal’s forest area doubled in the past 30 years.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf.jpg" data-media-id="editor_0" data-image-id="2026022009024_5f4a84bb389f9b56f4fa47d4f694adcd464eb13b192d184af0f1eb20efdfeebf" data-rendition-name="original" width="2000" height="1055" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>A NASA FIRMS image of Nepal with red dots signifying fires in February 2025.</figcaption> </figure>  Together, these factors have made forests tinder dry in spring, just waiting for a spark. Nepal has experienced winter drought in eight of the past ten years (this winter was an exception). Winter rain and snow at higher elevations play a decisive role in maintaining surface moisture, recharging shallow aquifers, and keeping forest floors damp enough to resist ignition. When winter rains fail, forests dry out months earlier than usual. Satellite-based assessments show a steep decline in surface moisture across the middle mountains of Nepal, particularly in areas with dense forest cover but limited undergrowth management. Springs that once flowed year-round are now seasonal.&nbsp; More than half of the springs in the mid-hills have either dried up or show significantly reduced discharge, a trend closely linked to declining soil moisture and disrupted recharge zones. Dry soil does not just threaten water security — it helps the vegetation ignite. FUEL WITHOUT FUNCTION For decades, Nepal’s forests have been accumulating dry leaf litter, fallen branches, shrubs, and deadwood. Historically, this biomass was not considered waste because rural households regularly collected leaf litter for livestock bedding, which was later composted and returned to farms as fertilizer.&nbsp; Forest floors were therefore relatively clean while the mulch fertilized farms. That relationship has steadily eroded due to outmigration, changes in livestock systems, restrictions on access to community forests, and the growing availability of chemical fertilisers.&nbsp; Community forests across the country today are thick with dry twigs, branches and leaves — a highly combustible carpet. When prolonged drought dries this biomass, even a small spark from a herder’s intentional fire, a cigarette, or lightning strike can trigger massive fires.&nbsp; Under such conditions, the question is no longer whether fires will occur, but how intense and widespread they will be. Forest fires are often framed as an environmental issue concerning trees and wildlife. In reality, their impact extends far beyond forest boundaries.&nbsp; Smoke travels faster and further than flames. Fine particulate matter, especially harmful PM2.5, spreads across countries. In recent fire seasons, air quality monitors in Kathmandu have recorded air quality levels several times higher than WHO guidelines. The smoke adds to Kathmandu’s own pollution and lingers for days.&nbsp; Flights are cancelled or delayed in cities like Pokhara, and poor visibility blocks mountain views affecting tourism. Health facilities report spikes in respiratory complaints, particularly among children and the elderly. Just as wildfires have multi-sectoral causes, the impact of forest fires go beyond forests. One critical dimension remains largely invisible: the soil. The fires cause silent damage beneath the ash, and the emergency does not end when the flames subside. Beneath the surface, soil suffers long-term damage. Organic matter burns away, beneficial microorganisms die. The soil structure weakens, reducing the land’s ability to absorb and retain water. The scorched earth is more prone to erosion, increasing the risk of floods and landslides once the rains return.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022009028_cc54ff056b2cac8b789cfd4d11afef9eaf943368e47b99aabd57c7b63b776cf2" data-rendition-name="original" width="1717" height="2143" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Wildfire risk map based on the validated Random Forest model (a) Overall reclassified wildfire risk map of Nepal, (b) District level wildfire risk, and (c) Municipality wildfire risk map.</figcaption> </figure>  In many of Nepal’s agricultural areas, soil organic matter levels are already below 2% -- lower than what is needed for resilient and productive farming. Repeated fires push these levels even lower, undermining soil fertility and forcing farmers to rely more heavily on chemical fertilisers, unleashing a vicious cycle of higher costs and food insecurity.&nbsp; Climate breakdown is often cited as the primary culprit, and rightly so. Rising temperatures and erratic rainfall have intensified fire risk. But fires in Nepal are increasingly the result of human intervention.&nbsp; The response of all three levels of government remains too little, and too reactive. Each year, resources are mobilised to extinguish fires once they have already spread. Far less attention is paid to managing the fuel load within forest undergrowth that makes such fires inevitable.&nbsp; Meanwhile, forestry and agriculture policies are not coordinated, missing opportunities to address shared challenges. Forest fires are not natural disasters, but predictable outcomes of governance choices. National plans and climate pledges set an ambitious target of raising soil organic matter to 4%. The science behind this goal is solid. Higher organic matter improves water retention, stabilises yields, reduces fertiliser dependence, and enhances long-term food security. What remains unclear is the pathway.&nbsp; Where will the organic inputs come from? How will they be processed and applied safely at scale? Without practical answers, the 4% target risks remaining aspirational rather than achievable. Forest undergrowth can be turned into fuel and fertiliser. Biochar is produced by heating organic biomass in a low-oxygen environment, converting it into a stable form of carbon that can be added to soil.&nbsp; When properly produced and applied, it improves soil structure, enhances water and nutrient retention, supports microbial activity, and locks carbon into the ground for decades. In Nepal biochar addresses two interconnected problems: reducing the accumulation of combustible biomass in forests, lowering fire risk, while simultaneously rebuilding depleted soils. In doing so, it restores the broken link between forest management and agriculture.&nbsp; Done well, biochar is not merely an environmental intervention. It is an economic one, with potential to create local employment, reduce farmers’ input costs, and support climate-smart agriculture. But biochar propagation depends on improved governance. If promoted as isolated pilots or short-term projects, it will fail. What is needed is institutional clarity: standards for production and safety, quality control mechanisms, farmer extension services, and coordination across local, provincial, and federal levels.  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4.jpg" data-media-id="editor_2" data-image-id="2026022009028_e6e2218f38fae5b1fe81d9f99078fe01f58d04b4b3b2c41447f017c3f838a1d4" data-rendition-name="original" width="1536" height="2048" loading="lazy" alt="Wildfire season NT"> <figcaption>Freshly prepared biochar under control tempature (350-600°C).</figcaption> </figure>  Community forest user groups could manage biomass collection. Local governments then support safe, decentralised production units. Agricultural extension services guide farmers on application, linked to soil testing and monitoring. Such an approach would reduce fire risk, improve soil health, and generate rural livelihoods.&nbsp; Poorly produced biochar or contaminated feedstock can harm soils and human health. Without training, standards, and oversight, good intentions can backfire. Nepal needs to move beyond fire-fighting to fire prevention and confront the structural causes that make them a growing risk. It is not just a technical choice – it is one that demands political will from newly-elected leaders after March. &nbsp;&nbsp; Ngamindra Dahal is a hydrometeorologist with the Nepal Water Conservation Foundation specialising on climate and water management issues.&nbsp;

RED ALERT: Get ready for the wildfire season

Party flags and banners wave from electric poles, houses and e-rickshaws are festooned with posters. Madhes Province is in the grip of election fever, and in a tour through four of its districts, there is the sense that any efforts by mainstream political parties at reforms have come too little too late. Among the banners, the sky blue of the<a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/new-vs-new-in-nepal"> RSP is more prominent </a>here this time, and the rallying cry across the country for new and improved leadership is echoed on the ground. “For the people around here, whatever these old leaders are saying has become just noise,” says a lassi shop operator in Janakpur, waving a dismissive hand at flags with the NC’s tree symbol across the street. In Janakpur, UML nominee Raghubir Mahaseth was barred from canvassing door-to-door. Campaign posters of the mainstream parties have been torn from walls and replaced with RSP posters.&nbsp; In Inarwari village of Rautahat in the Madhes heartland, local elected officials whose parties have been merged into the Nepali Communist Party hope to retain enough supporters this election. But not many residents say they would vote for its candidate. &nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641.jpg" data-media-id="editor_1" data-image-id="2026022005024_a793e3a19cbd536fde50708c4a41b8b0d39a4716c6973feddad889097b655641" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> <figcaption>Photos: SHRISTI KARKI</figcaption> </figure>  A first-time voter in Sarlahi’s Haripur is home on a semester break from medical school in Kathmandu, and is waiting excitedly for 5 March. “You can’t really say out loud whom you’re voting for around here,” he says, as he mimes ringing a bell. “It is time for someone new to be in-charge." In the highway town of Bardibas, an elderly teashop owner says that all she hears are calls for घण्टी, the RSP’s bell symbol. “After all, bells are rung in the house of gods,” she says. “It seems like the right choice.” The RSP wave sweeping the nation after the GenZ movement is seen in Madhes, and the PR ballots might reflect that, notes political analyst Tula Narayan Shah.&nbsp; “But the socio-cultural networks, organisational setup, and legacy of democratic movement of traditional parties might still give them a fighting chance on the first past the post ballot,” he says. &nbsp;“The door-to-door campaign style of candidates has always been more prominent in Madhes than elsewhere.”&nbsp; Villages like Dhankaul in Sarlahi-4 where <a href="https://nepalitimes.com/news/grand-split-in-nepal-s-grand-old-party">Gagan Thapa</a> of the Nepali Congress (NC) is running against incumbent Amresh Singh, is an NC stronghold. Singh won the election here twice before in 2013 and 2017 when he was an NC leader, and still had goodwill among NC voters when he ran and won as an independent during the 2022 election. “I voted for him twice before when he was in the NC, but he did not do anything for this or other villages. Once he is elected, he has not set foot here,” says Rajiv Yadav, a voter in Dhanakul. “The RSP will get more votes here than last time, but Gagan is sure to win. This village will vote for him.”  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3.jpg" data-media-id="editor_3" data-image-id="2026022005024_26691bb5a37edf705cc197a632d0bf032f984079a838d31bcd943bc0b9c97ff3" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  Madhes is in the spotlight this election because two prime ministerial candidates have focused their attention in the region. Balen Shah began his campaign in Janakpur (main picture, left) in January as a ‘Son of Madhes’, and Gagan Thapa chose Sarlahi-4 as his constituency over Kathmandu-4, from where he has been elected since 2013.&nbsp; The Madhes has always been the battleground for Nepal’s electoral politics, and candidates from here, like Krishna Prasad Bhattarai from Parsa, Pushpa Kamal Dahal from Siraha, Jhala Nath Khanal from Sarlahi, and Madhav Kumar Nepal from Rautahat, have all been prime ministers. Despite electing politicians to high office in Kathmandu, districts of Madhes have consistently ranked low in development and service delivery indicators, especially in basic healthcare and education. Socio-economic inequalities stemming from a lack of opportunities has also meant that Madhes districts have the highest rate of out-migration in the country.&nbsp; What is different this time is that the people of the province have a Madhesi prime ministerial candidate who will represent them in national politics, and the main competition ultimately will be between the NC and RSP prime ministerial candidates. Interestingly, voters seem to be looking beyond Madhes-based parties who have historically campaigned on identity and federalism.&nbsp;  <figure> <img src="https://publisher-publish.s3.eu-central-1.amazonaws.com/pb-nepalitimes/swp/asv65r/media/2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1.jpg" data-media-id="editor_4" data-image-id="2026022005024_1b5c1134fb02ded72a12221200918df584b0cd003139bb2be44951efe9a65bf1" data-rendition-name="original" width="1600" height="1200" loading="lazy" alt="Battleground Tarai NT"> </figure>  “Leaders of Madhes parties have glorified their struggle for votes but failed to perform on good governance at local and provincial levels,” explains Tula Narayan Shah. “Now, Balen has become a PM candidate as a face of the region, and as someone who will deliver based on his work as Kathmandu mayor.” If the RSP wins, it will be governing in the absence of provincial leadership that would play a crucial mediatory role between Kathmandu and local units. On Wednesday, RSP’s Madhes province chair Mamta Sharma resigned from the party and joined the NC. There is also some underlying tension between RSP cadre loyal to Balen Shah and Rabi Lamichhane. “It is not prudent to predict who will win the election and whether parties will deliver on promises,” says Tula Narayan Shah. “But win or lose, there is little basis at this time to believe that the RSP will be committed to making the federal system and provinces more functional.” Voters here in the heart of the federalism movement, however, are willing to give the RSP the benefit of the doubt. &nbsp;Resident Brahma Dev in Janakpur told us: &nbsp;“The RSP, like parties that came before them, deserve a chance to prove their leadership in the next five years. If they do not deliver, we can always vote them out next time.”&nbsp; On Wednesday, NC leaders unveiled the party’s 10-point election manifesto at a large rally in Janakpur (main picture, right). Gagan Thapa began by addressing a cheering crowd in Maithili, and said the NC was reformed, adding:&nbsp; “The GenZ did not reject us, they told us to change our ways.” Also on Wednesday 800km away at the other end of the country in Dhangadi, Balen Shah, in a speech that lasted just three minutes, he said: “Don’t vote for us, give us work to do.”&nbsp;

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