Kathmandu: The 19th edition of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) is scheduled to take place in the second week of December. The organizers informed at a press conference in Kathmandu on Sunday that the festival will take place from December 9 to 13

The festival will be held in the hall of the Film Development Board. More than 60 films from 28 different countries, including documentaries, fiction, short films and animations, will be available online and live at KIMFF.

This year’s KIMFF theme is ‘Climate Karma’. The keynote address of Sonam Wangchuck, an environmentalist from Ladakh, India and Rolex Award winner will be presented at the inauguration ceremony of KIMFF.

This year, KIMFF and the European Union will also hold a short film competition for Nepali filmmakers titled ‘Green Growth-Green Recovery’.

The films that will be shown online at the festival will be available on the official website of KIMFF for the duration of the festival.

This year’s KIMFF jury includes Swiss journalist and mountaineer Mario Casella, Swiss journalist and filmmaker Caroline Fink, and Nepali actor and director Anup Baral. The three-member jury will decide on 40 films selected for the international competition and the best documentary and fiction film in Nepali Panorama.

The first-place winner will get Rs 200,000, the second place winner will get Rs 150,000 and the third place winner will get Rs 100,000 cash prize. The best documentary in Nepali Panorama will get Rs 75,000 and the best film will get Rs 100,000. According to the organizers, the best mountain film will get one thousand US dollars.

There will also be a dialogue and discussion on the topic of ‘Breaking Code Red-Dignity with Danger’, the practice of menstruation in Nepal and ‘Coping with Climate Action’.