This year’s edition of the eighth Nepal International Indige-nous Film Festival (NIIFF) 2071, organised by the Indigenous Film Archive is going to be held in the City Hall and the Nepal Tourism Board Hall, both located on Exhibition Road, Kathmandu . During the festival, films from 18 countries around the world will be screened, starting from June 12. The festival will continue till June 14.

The festival will also be showcasing a collection of photographs based on the indigenous communities, and visitors during the programme will be able to taste traditional food items prepared in stalls run by various indigenous groups.

Out of 103 film entries from 27 countries this year, IFA selected 48. These films, which are based on indigenous communities from around the world, come under the genres of short film, feature-length film, documentary, animation and music video.

This year’s international category is primarily focused on Latin American Films, and 15 films from seven countries of the American region are being screened. A total of 27 film entries were made by Nepali filmmakers this year–films, short films, documentaries and music videos made by 13 indigenous groups. Out of these, 12 films from seven groups–Tamang, Limbu, Magar, Tharu, Rai, Gurung and Thakali—have been selected for screening. These films and documentaries are based on the culture and lifestyle of Nepalis who live in varied regions: from the far-west parts of the country to the far-east, and from up north to the south.

Two documentaries made by foreign filmmakers, which are based on Nepali communities, have also been selected for the festival. German filmmaker Holjar Reday’s 360 Degree Geo-Report Escape From The Mountains, based on the Thakali people in Mutang, and New York-based filmmaker Carlus Gomaje’s Meesaik, based on the Limbu community, will also be screened. Ram Babu Gurung’s Kabaddi–which has received positive reviews—will have its special screening during the festival, while The Korean Dream¸ directed by Ashok Thapa Magar, will premiere at the festival.

The fest will also see the screening of Japanese documentary Ainu Path Ways to Memory, Pakistani documentary The Kalash and the Creations and Malaysian documentary The Sankan Grave. In order to educate children, the festival will also be screening animated films that are based on indigenous stories .

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The star of one Oscar-nominated foreign film won’t be taking a limo to the ceremony. He’ll be arriving inside his director’s pocket.

Rithy Panh, the filmmaker behind the Cambodian entry “The Missing Picture,” revealed that he’s bringing the clay figurine that serves as the main character in his film around town during Oscar week.

The 51-year-old filmmaker pulled the small figurine out of his blazer during a Saturday event celebrating the five foreign language film nominees at the motion picture academy’s headquarters.

“Clay is good,” Panh said. “After the film (was finished), he’s been traveling with me a little bit. Maybe he will turn back to clay, water or dust, and there will be no trace — just one soul living with us forever.”

Unlike the other foreign film nominees, “The Missing Picture” stars hundreds of similarly carved clay figures — not actors — to illustrate how the Khmer Rouge regime left more than 1.7 million people dead from starvation, medical neglect, slave-like working conditions and execution in Cambodia.

“I tried to make a fiction, but it’s not possible for me,” Panh said. “Maybe it’s more possible for people who did not live during a genocide to direct actors on how to die and kill, but it seemed to me a little too hard for someone who lived during a genocide.”

“The Missing Picture,” the first-ever Oscar-nominated film from Cambodia, is up against Belgium’s “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Denmark’s “The Hunt,” Italy’s “The Great Beauty” and Palestine’s “Omar.” The latter is new language by the academy.

The human stars of several the foreign language nominees, including Veerle Baetens of “The Broken Circle Breakdown,” Adam Bakri of “Omar” and Mads Mikkelsen of “The Hunt,” were on hand at the event on the eve of the Oscars.

“I was told to never work with children or animals,” said Thomas Vinterberg, director of “The Hunt,” which stars both a young girl and a dog alongside Mikkelsen. “In fact, it paid off really well. They were nice to work with. They don’t ask questions. You ask them to bark, and they do. No offense, Mads.”

The 86th annual Academy Awards will be presented Sunday at the Dolby Theater.

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