''Kalo Pothi: The Black Hen'' () is a 2015

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...

directed by

Min Bahadur Bham Min Bahadur Bham is a Nepalese film director. He has won various awards including the National Film Award for Best Writer, the Norwegian Sorfond Award at the Cannes Film Festival, and the Fedeora Award at the Venice Film Festival. In 2015, '' The ...

and produced by Anna Katchko, Tsering Rhitar Sherpa,

, Debaki Rai, Catherine Dussart and Anup Thapa. The story takes place in Mugu, a district in north-west

Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the Himalayas, but also includes parts of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China Ch ...

in 2001 during the

Nepalese civil war The Nepalese Civil War was a protracted armed conflict that took place in the then Kingdom of Nepal from 1996 to 2006. It saw countrywide fighting between the Kingdom rulers and the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), with the latter making ...

(1996–2006). It is the first Nepali film to be screened at the

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...

. It was selected as the Nepalese entry for the

Best Foreign Language Film The following is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various films, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Bes ...

at the

89th Academy Awards The 89th Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best 2016 in film, films of 2016, and took place on February 26, 2017, at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Californ ...

but it was not nominated. It is also the highest grossing Nepali film in overseas and one of the highest-grossing films in Nepal.

Plot

The film is based on a journey embarked by two friends, Prakash and Kiran, belonging to different castes in search of a missing hen, unaware of the tyranny brought by the fragile ceasefire during the Nepalese civil war.

Cast

* Khadka Raj Nepali as Prakash * Sukraj Rokaya as Kiran * Jit Bahadur Malla as Prakash's father * Benisha Hamal as Kiran's sister * Hansa Khadka as Prakash's sister * Nanda Prashad Khatri *

Bipin Karki Bipin Karki (, born 21 August 1982 in Bahuni, Nepal) is a Nepalese film and theatre actor known for his work in Nepali cinema. Karki started acting at a young age by appearing in stage plays with his brother, Arjun Karki. Karki performed stage ...

* Praween Khatiwada

Reception

The film opened to generally positive reviews. Sophia Pande of ''

Nepali Times ''Nepali Times'' (stylized as NEPALI Times) is an English weekly newspaper that provides reporting and commentary on Nepali politics, business, culture, travel and society in 16 pages. The weekly is aimed at the expatriate, diplomatic and busine ...

'' wrote that the film is "an example of the new wave of Nepali cinema, the kind that chooses to portray stories with truth and heart, over melodrama and action". ''

The Himalayan Times ''The Himalayan Times'' is an English-language broadsheet newspaper published and distributed daily in Nepal Nepal, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mainly situated in the ...

'' wrote in its review: "A mixture of tragedy and comedy, while portraying the brother-sister bond, friendship, caste-based discrimination and the then time of Maoist insurgency in the country, Kalo Pothi has been made with finesse". Clarence Tsui of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' wrote "Bolstered by stirring performances from his cast, Bham and his crew have produced an evocative piece about harsh lives unraveling in a war-torn, rustic land. Mixing moments of humor and tragedy, along with realism and the ethereal — the latter embodied in fantastic dream sequences illustrating Prakash’s suppressed feelings of grief and loss — Black Hen is an effective showcase of a promising filmmaker in flight".

Awards

* Best Film at Venice International Film Festival, Critics Week, 2015

References

External links