Nepali film Shirjara seeks final funding at Tokyo market

Director Bikash Subedi has completed principal photography on his Nepali feature film Shirjara: Song of Grandmother, Variety reported. The speculative drama is currently being presented at the Tokyo Gap-Financing Market to raise its final $44,000 in funding. Production aims to secure a premiere at the Cannes Film Festival next year. [1][4]

The film sets traditional Himalayan culture and ancestral memory against the rise of artificial intelligence, Variety reported. It moves between the high Himalayas and a modern world shaped by technology. [1]

The project is being showcased alongside broader film market events in Japan. The Hollywood Reporter reported that the Tokyo International Film Festival opened with Sukiyaki, a drama by Takahisa Zeze about the origin of the famous 1960s song. [2]

In addition, the managing director of the TIFFCOM content market, Kaori Ikeda, noted an increasing opportunity to adapt Japanese intellectual property beyond anime and manga, according to the Hollywood Reporter. [3]