Dec 15, 2017-Ben Ayers discovered the honey hunters of the Hongu River Valley, in eastern Nepal, more than a decade ago, and it was not easy to convince Mauli Dhan Rai—the “last honey hunter”—and the people of his village for approval to bring their lives on screen, with the film The Last Honey Hunter.
On Thursday, the film (directed by Ben Knight), which has already received accolades in the international film fest circuit, opened the 15th edition of the annual Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff).
Mauli Dhan Rai and his people believe that harvesting the wild honey is a sacred task that requires the permission of the forest god, Rongkemi. It is also believed that Rongkemi curses ones who encroach nature too often--Mauli Rai has come to believe in the curse for he has lost his wives.
The belief in the forest god has also protected the natural environment in the region for centuries, but as modernisation etches closer to the region, honey hunting as a “mystical vocation” might come to an end.
The movie also implicitly warns the gradual disappearance of wild bees as pollution and industrialisation seeps into the region.
“As the tradition of honey hunting is often associated with Western Nepal, his movie should come as a surprise, not just to the foreign audience, but also to the Nepali audience,” remarked the festival director, Ramyata Limbu, speaking at the opening of the five-day festival.
Along with The Last Honey Hunter, there are more than 70 films from 37 different countries being screened at the festival.
A jury team composed of Jonna Croston, programme director of Banff Mountain Film and Book Festival in Canada, Kesang Tseten, a Nepali documentary maker, and Reena Mohan, an Indian editor, will judge the films that are competing for prizes in seven different categories.
According to the organisers, this year the festival received more than 300 submissions from 76 different countries. Several genres of films are being featured in the festival—from realist depiction of people, such as the last honey hunter and The Workers Cup, which depict the woes of migrant workers as they struggle to survive the ordeal of building the world cup stadiums, to Box City, a surreal drama about a man who has lost himself to the conventions of society.
The festival will also see the world premiere of several movies including Pink Tiffany that chronicles the life and struggle of a transgender woman in Nepal.
Along with the screenings, the festival will also feature a Doc Lab live pitch, where aspiring filmmakers can make story pitches to a panel composed of veteran filmmakers and video journalists.
The fest is being held at QFX Kumari and will conclude on Dec 18.
Published: 15-12-2017 14:04
The Kathmandu Post ›Entertainment › Sandesh Ghimir
source; http://kathmandupost.ekantipur.com
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