| ashu |
Posted
on 14-May-01 12:37 AM
Raising support for a work-in-progress
Dhruba Basnet's Documentary on the Nepali Maobaadi
In February 2001, a team of journalists toured the Maobaadi heartland of Rukum, Rolpa and Jajarkot districts. One of them was Dhruba Basnet, well-known filmmaker.
He came away with 39 hours of footage, of which he showed 21 minutes of clippings to an audience at the Baggikhana Gallery in Patan Dhoka on 8 May.
The footage showed unusual scenes of the Nepali countryside in
the control of the Maobaadi - revolutionary dance by a Maoist
troupe; young men and women traversing trails and suspension
bridges with guns slung over their shoulders; orphaned children
cooking their own meals in the absence of 'disappeared' parents;
gunshots in the hillsides and along trails; the beleagured district headquarters; articulate jail inmates; and so on.
If it is true that the Moabaadi andolan is still remote from the
sensibility of Nepalis in the capital and elsewhere, this
audio-visual documentation from the firm hand of Dhruba Basnet can be a powerful medium to bring the reality to the forefront.
For this reason alone, it is urgent to have this film completed and available for viewing.
Knowing the urgency of the situation, Dhruba Basnet is keen to
have a 52-minute film scripted, edited and ready for screening by
the end of the month (May). The premiere show will be held at
Baggikhana. The film would be available in copies to promote
maximum screening elsewhere.
The filming effort thus far has been entirely Dhruba Basnet's own.
He is not in a position, however, to continue with the remaining
work (video transfer, transcription, editing, etc), which will cost about NRs 200,000 (dui lakh).
It is not appropriate that a film about a uniquely Nepali problem and which needs to be shown first and foremost to Nepali audiences should traverse the traditional 'funding' route. Some concerned friends of Dhruba Basnet have therefore decided to raise the required amount from Nepalis and residents in Nepal, with the hope of raising the entire amount by the third week of May.
We seek your support. What we need is two hundred individuals to
contribute a thousand rupees each, or a hundred to contibute two
thousand rupees each (and so on!).
Where to send money:
Narendra Thapa, accountant at the non-profit Himal Association,
will receive the contributions and transfer them wholly to Dhruba
Basnet, providing receipts. To make it easy all around, friends will themselves have to arrange for their contributions to be delivered to the Himal Association office at Patan Dhoka (tel 542544, email himassn@mos.com.np).
Mr. Narendra Thapa will be available at Himal Associaition Sunday
to Friday, office hours. Please make clear if you would like your
contribution not to be credited.
A notice will be sent around after the two lakh-rupee target has
been achieved, and no money shall be accepted after that point.
You can check the stage of our fund-raising drive by clicking on
the Himal Association website at
www.himalassociation.org/dhruba
Thank you for your support.
Kanak Mani Dixit
(11 May 2001)
PS: As of today, when the drive begins, we have raised
NRs 15,000 (pandra hajaar).
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