Min Bahadur Bham Explained

Nepalese filmmaker Min Bahadur Bham holds Masters degrees in Buddhist Philosophy and Political Science while pursuing a PhD in Anthropology.

His short, Bansulli (2012), Nepal’s first entry to the Venice IFF, followed by his debut feature Kalo Pothi (2015), which won the FEDEORA Best Film Award at Venice Critics Week, and became Nepal’s official Oscar entry. Acknowledged for nurturing emerging talent, his productions have graced the festivals like - Venice, Berlinale, Rotterdam and Busan.

His new film, "SHAMBHALA" is set to premiere in Main Competition at Berlin Film Festival, marking a historic moment as Nepal’s maiden feature to enter in the Competition Section at one of the world’s top film festivals. Notably, SHAMBHALA is the first South Asian film to be selected in Berlinale’s Main Competition after three decades, adding to its groundbreaking legacy.

Min Bahadur Bham has won various awards including the National Film Awards for Best Film and Best Writer, the Norwegian Sorfond Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Fedeora Award at the Venice Film Festival.

In 2015, The Black Hen was selected as the Nepalese entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 89th Academy Awards but it was not nominated. It is also the highest grossing Nepali film in overseas and one of the highest-grossing films in Nepal. ^[1]

Bham was born in 1986 in Mugu District, Karnali Province, Nepal.^{[2] [3]}

Filmography

2012	Bansulli (The Flute)	Venice Horizons YouTube Award – Nominated	^[4]
2015	The Black Hen	National Film Award for Best Writer – Won National Film Award for Best Movie – Won Venice Film Festival's Fedeora Award – Won	^[5]
2019	A Year of Cold	Cannes Film Festival's Norwegian Sorfond Award	^[6] ^[7]
2024	Shambhala		^[8]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Holdsworth. Nick. 2016-09-06. Oscars: Nepal Selects ‘Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen)’ for Foreign-Language Category. live. 2021-05-29. The Hollywood Reporter. en-US. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529115505/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/oscars-nepal-selects-kalo-pothi-925906/.
2. Web site: A portrait of Min Bahadur Bham, an interesting character in the boring story of the Nepali cinema. live. 2021-05-29. OnlineKhabar. en-GB. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529115026/https://english.onlinekhabar.com/a-portrait-of-min-bahadur-bham-an-interesting-character-in-the-boring-story-of-the-nepali-cinema.html.
3. News: Praveen. S. r. 2015-12-09. The never-ending question of caste. en-IN. The Hindu. 2021-05-29. 0971-751X. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529115120/https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Thiruvananthapuram/the-neverending-question-of-caste/article7963506.ece. live.
4. Web site: Venice 2015: Critics' Week. 2021-05-29. Screen. en. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529114109/https://www.screendaily.com/venice/venice-2015-critics-week/5092212.article. live.
5. Web site: Mayorga. Emilio. 2018-08-07. Locarno: Nepal’s Min Bahadur Bham Presents ‘A Year of Cold’. live. 2021-05-29. Variety. en-US. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529114543/https://variety.com/2018/film/festivals/locarno-min-bahadur-bham-a-year-of-cold-1202896879/.
6. Web site: Min Bahadur Bham’s ‘A Year of Cold’ wins Norwegian Award at Cannes. 2021-05-29. My City. en.
7. Web site: Min Bahadur Bham: Our film industry lacks creative producers who can invest more than money. live. 2021-05-29. The Kathmandu Post. English. 2021-05-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210529114928/https://kathmandupost.com/20/2020/02/17/min-bahadur-bham-our-film-industry-lacks-creative-producers-who-can-invest-more-than-money.
8. Web site: The Berlinale unveils its Competition and Encounters titles . Davide. Abbatescianni . 22 January 2024. 6 February 2024 . . en.