Nepal America International Film Festival of Maryland, organized annually by the Nepal America Film Society, has announced the lineup for its 2025 edition.
It includes acclaimed Nepali features — Shambala (Berlin Main Competition title 2024) directed by Min Bahadur Bham, Pooja, Sir (Venice-premiered 2024) by Deepak Rauniyar, and The World’s Happiest Man (a Nepali film made in the USA, 2025) by director Binod Paudel — along with a host of other remarkable features, documentaries, and shorts from countries across the globe.
NAIFF 2025 is set to take place at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center in Silver Spring from June 26 to June 29, and the Greenbelt Cinema in Greenbelt, Maryland. This year's edition will screen a total of 31 films from 15 countries, including both shorts and features. The films were selected from submissions by the selection committee comprising filmmakers and film scholars from Nepal, the United States, and South Africa.
As in previous years, this year's festival will include two films as part of the Global Peace Film Festival sidebar — War Tails by director Olha Byrledianu, and Lithium Rising: The Race for Critical Minerals by director Samuel George. The DMV Close-Up section will feature A Christmas Bonus, directed by Prince George's County-based filmmaker Chaka Balamani, along with a selection of other short films from the region. The acclaimed documentary Devi, directed by Subina Shrestha, and We Are Inside by Farah Kassem will also be screened during the festival.
NAIFF 2025 is slated to kick off with a Tibetan cast film 'Shambhala' on June 26 at the AFI Silver Theater and Cultural Center, amidst a gathering of special guests and attending filmmakers. The festival will close at the same venue on June 29 with a screening of Pooja, Sir, followed by an awards ceremony.
The festival is supported by the Prince George's Arts and Humanities Council and other valued partners. "We are so pleased that we are bringing these extraordinary films this year as well, that represent people and cultures, and their stories of struggle, of existence, of happiness," said Yubakar Rajkarnikar, Director of the Nepal America International Film Festival. "We are so glad to be able to share these films with the visitors to our festival."
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