Paper short abstract:

The movie “Numafung” (2002) belongs to the growing genre of ethnic cinema in Nepal. It is the first full feature film on the ethnic minority of the Limbu, directed by a Limbu and (partly) in Limbu language, and can be seen as an expression of the new ethnic awareness and pride in post-1990 Nepal.

Paper long abstract:

In terms of language and imagery the film "Numafung" is quite different from the commercial and very popular Hindi movies (for example, all the actors are non-professionals), nevertheless it was a big success and was well received in Nepal, especially in local cinemas in the east. Based on a narrative by the writer and politician Kajiman Kandangwa (who died in 2003), Karbar ki Gharbar, the film tells the story of the young woman Numafung (lit. 'beautiful flower' in Limbu) in the hills of eastern Nepal. The story recounts how Numafung, after being widowed and later unhappily remarried, eventually goes her own ways, defying her relatives and the grip of custom.

It is above all the way this story is told and film images are employed which broke new ground in Nepali cinema. The presentation, which includes visual examples, looks mainly at the staging of Limbu culture in the scenes, action, music and language, and asks how the medium of film is used to both criticise custom and at the same time create new ethnic self-images vis-à-vis outsiders. It will also consider the reception by viewers, nationally and internationally, as reflected in academic discourse, in the press and in discussions on the internet, and inquire into the potentials and predicaments of ethnic cinema in the development of a more inclusive public sphere in contemporary Nepal.