Nepal-Africa Film Festival inaugurated in Kathmandu with 'Earth Anthem'

The third Nepal-Africa Film Festival was inaugurated on June 18 with the screening of the 'Earth Anthem' - a short film written, produced and directed by Indian poet-diplomat Abhay K. at the Russian Cultural Centre in Kathmandu.

The Nepalese film uindustry is popularly known as Kollywood.

The Earth Anthem originally a poem written by the poet Abhay K. In 2009, it was set to music by Sapan Ghimire, a music composer from Darjeeling and has been sung by singer Shreya Sotang of Nepal.

The Earth Anthem celebrates the diversity of the whole planet and has been sung in eight languages - Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Hindi, Nepali, Russian and Spanish.

Rajesh Hamal, a superstar of Nepalese films, and other celebrities from the Nepalese film industry were present at the inauguration ceremony along with Russia's Ambassador to Nepal Dr. Sergey V. Velichkin, and South Africa Consul Pradeep Kumar Shrestha. he two-day festival will conclude today after the screening of 14 films, including Yesterday's Slave, Hotel Rwanda, Danish Fly, Windows of Hope, Kenya Rwanda.

The first and second Nepal-African Festivals were organised in Kathmandu in 2011 and 2012.