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Nepali short film awarded in decades-old German festival

Kathmandu, May 19

A short film from Nepal has been awarded in an internationally recognised film festival in Germany.

‘Junu Ko Jutta: The shoes of a little girl’ has been awarded the Special Mention in the Children’s and Youth Film Competition of the 66th edition of the 66th International Short Film Festival Oberhausen. The award was announced in Oberhausen of Germany on Monday.

The Kedar Shrestha-directed 13-minute film deals with the struggle of a little girl in identifying her left and right shoes, which later leads her to a new trick of learning.

Commenting on the film, the jury has said, “We liked that the film was very realistic and that we saw much of a different country. And we liked the music. In the end, the girl had a great idea. The story made so much sense.”

Shrestha joined the award announcement ceremony online from Kathmandu and said he was happy to have received the award. He added, “This award is a recognition of all Nepali filmmakers. During this time of crisis [of coronavirus outbreak], this is really good news.”

“We would like to dedicate this award to all Nepali children and their guardians.”

Earlier, the film had also received the Best Children’s Award in the Los Angeles International Film Festival, Best Fiction Award in the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, and Jury Special Mention Award in the Nepal International Film Festival.

The movie tells the story of a five-year-old girl named Junu and is set in Junbesi village of the Solukhumbu district of Nepal. As the movie begins, the child is unable to identify her left and right shoes, inviting ‘nagging’ from her mother and others. Later, she herself innovates a unique method to recognise them.

Shrestha says the movie is still unavailable for the public as it is competing in other national and international film festivals.

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