Kathmandu, Nepal — More than 40 films from approximately ten countries will be screened during Kathmandu Metropolitan City’s Kathmandu Film Festival 2026, scheduled for 30 October to 1 November 2026 (13–15 Kartik 2083). The three-day festival brings together Nepali shorts, international features, heritage screenings, youth films, public events and filmmaking conversations.

The municipality has publicly identified selected titles across International Panorama, Nepal Panorama, the Youth Video Challenge and classic Nepali cinema. The lists below cover 35 individually named festival films, not the entire announced programme of more than 40. Other international titles and Yamagata short-film titles have not all been published in the accessible organiser announcement.

Movie Posters: Confirmed Visual Guide

These 12 posters have identifiable, film-specific sources and correspond to the festival’s published selections. Tap a poster to open a larger image. All are film-publicity or historical theatrical artwork, not posters commissioned or endorsed by Kathmandu Film Festival. Credits appear below the images.

Poster availability note: The other 23 individually named festival entries have not been given a film-specific public poster that could be confidently verified against the filmmaker and title in this review. Their titles remain included in the complete tables. We have not substituted unofficial AI-made artwork or posters from unrelated films.

International Panorama: All Ten Announced Films

Jai Nepal Cinema will host the international selection, mixing feature dramas, independent filmmaking and a world-cinema classic. Eight of the ten announced titles have verified film-specific poster images shown in the table.

Bayaan, directed by Bikas Ranjan Mishra, follows a detective investigating allegations against a powerful figure. Not a Hero is a film by Rima Das; No Good Men is by Shahrbanoo Sadat; and The Godfather is the 1972 Francis Ford Coppola classic. The refreshed Godfather poster is a portrait-format image featuring Marlon Brando, not an unrelated sequel or low-resolution preview.

Credit clarification: The municipality’s release attributes Stairs to Genevieve Clay-Smith, but the filmmaker’s own production record names Zoljargal Purevdash as director and Clay-Smith as writer/producer. The table uses the production credit. The official name of the Dear You director is Lan Hongchun.

Nepal Panorama: Ten Selected Nepali Short Films

Kathmandu Metropolitan City selected ten Nepal Panorama works from 75 submissions, with screenings scheduled at National City Hall (Rastriya Sabha Griha) on 1 November. Each selected entry is due a NPR 100,000 incentive award. One selected film, Rihana, has a verified public festival poster; the other films are presented by title and credited maker until authentic artwork is published.

The municipal press announcement is the source of the Nepali selection and filmmaker names. Some film-credit databases use different spelling/transliteration conventions.

Youth Video Challenge: Twelve Selected Videos

Twelve entries were selected from 35 submissions to the five-minute “My Culture, My Heritage” Youth Video Challenge. The top three receive NPR 150,000, NPR 100,000 and NPR 50,000 respectively. As of this update, no authoritative individual publicity poster could be matched for these twelve short videos.

Classic Nepali Cinema: Three Special Screenings

The festival’s retrospective includes Kumari, Ke Ghar Ke Dera and Sindoor. Their historical film artwork is shown below. Be careful not to confuse the 1985 Ke Ghar Ke Dera with the later Ke Ghar Ke Dera: Ghar No. 2.

Sindoor is planned for the opening-day outdoor heritage screening near Juddha Salik and Indra Chowk.

Yamagata Collaboration and Other Screenings

Short films from Yamagata, Japan, part of UNESCO’s Creative Cities of Film network, will also screen. The programme has been described as View People, View Cities; the full names of the constituent shorts have not been independently confirmed.

The city also reported an associated special presentation of Elephants in the Fog and a discussion with its filmmakers and students ahead of the main festival. This is a pre-festival activity, not an additional confirmed title in the 30 October–1 November main lineup.

Festival Events and Schedule

Friday, 30 October: Heritage walk and opening screenings

The main programme opens at Basantapur with cultural presentations and a heritage walk. An open-air screening of Sindoor and a selected Youth Video Challenge film is planned along the road between Juddha Salik and Indra Chowk.

Saturday, 31 October: Red carpet and cinema

A red-carpet event at National City Hall will honour Nepal’s film sector as international and local screenings continue.

Sunday, 1 November: Nepal Panorama, youth films and awards

The selected Nepal Panorama films and Youth Video Challenge videos will screen at National City Hall, with announced competition awards and incentive prizes.

Additional venues and activities: Nepal Tourism Board will host filmmaking masterclasses and interactive sessions. Jai Nepal Cinema and Taragaon Next Museum are among the partner venues.

Tickets, Venues and Attendance

Dates	30 October–1 November 2026 (13–15 Kartik 2083)
Organiser	Kathmandu Metropolitan City
Films	More than 40 from about ten countries; 35 titles specifically identified here
Venues	Basantapur, National City Hall, Nepal Tourism Board, Jai Nepal Cinema and Taragaon Next Museum
Admission	Free; free reserved-seat tickets may be needed through Himalaya Pay

Festival-goers should check the organiser’s latest announcements before visiting, because exact session times and seat availability may differ by venue.

Why the Festival Matters

Kathmandu’s new municipal festival gives short films, local independent work and international cinema an unusual shared public platform. Beyond film screenings, its combination of cultural heritage, professional discussions and youth awards could expand the city’s creative economy.

Its longer-term test will be whether it creates a sustained audience for independent films, gives emerging directors distribution opportunities and builds repeatable partnerships after the three-day programme ends.