kimff Foundation
The People Behind kimff
Meet the board, advisors, secretariat, and selection committee shaping the festival.
Foundation Board
The governing body of the kimff Foundation, setting the festival’s direction and stewarding its long-term mission.
Chair
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu founded the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff) in 2000 with like-minded media colleagues. She has collaborated on several award-winning feature documentaries, including “Daughters of Everest” which followed the first team of all women, Sherpa climbers to ascend Everest, “The Sari Soldiers” about the conflict in Nepal told through the stories of six women, and, “Drawing The Tiger”, an intimate portrait of the price a Nepali family pays to educate their daughter. She mentors young women to become strategic visionaries and leaders who build movements that address challenges faced by women and girls. She reports for Al Jazeera English TV and is particularly committed to interlinking science and professional practice in dealing with questions of international media development.
Board Member
Bhaskar Dhungana
Bhaskar Dhungana
Bhaskar Dhungana is an entrepreneur and filmmaker known for building ventures and telling stories that challenge convention. His work often reflects a willingness to question the status quo and explore ideas that provoke thought rather than simply entertain. Outside of his professional life, he is deeply drawn to nature. He spends much of his free time hiking and seeking out quiet landscapes, using these moments to reset and find perspective. He also has a strong connection to music, particularly pieces that carry emotional depth and authenticity. Bhaskar is outspoken about his belief in democracy, viewing it as an active responsibility rather than a passive ideal. He is not afraid to voice his opinions, even when they are unpopular, and is often seen as a provocateur—someone who pushes conversations forward and challenges people to think more critically.
Board Member
Dawa Futi Sherpa
Dawa Futi Sherpa
Dawa Futi Sherpa is the president of Pasang Lhamu Foundation, an organisation dedicated to improving the lives of women and children, and, developing mountaineering and tourism in Nepal. She is a former ambassador of Nepal to Spain and the first Nepali Permanent Representative at the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO). Dawa is on the board of the Institute of Integrated Studies and Citizen Life Insurance. Over the course of her career, she has held various positions in both non-profit and private sectors. She received her MA in International Education from New York University, USA, and has a sound knowledge of development, importance of cultural exchange and public diplomacy.
Board Member
Luna Bhattarai
Luna Bhattarai
Luna Bhattarai is a feminism advocate, facilitator, mentor, and campaigner with over fifteen years of experience in designing and facilitating participatory and inclusive learning processes. She is a silent reader of books and articles, curious observer of art and music, and an aggressive viewer of all kinds of cinema. She uses social media platforms to organize campaigns, raise questions and demand accountability on issues of youth and women empowerment, participatory leadership, social justice, sexual harassment, and gender-based violence. She has worked in Europe, East Asia, and South Asia and mentored young leaders at home and abroad. She is currently working with women media practitioners and storytellers to share their stories through digital and traditional platforms.
Foundation Advisors
Trusted counsel from filmmakers, writers, and festival pioneers who help shape kimff’s creative and strategic horizons.
Advisor
Basanta Thapa
Basanta Thapa
Basanta Thapa is a writer, translator and publisher. He was former editor of “Himal” biomonthly and columnist for several years for “Himal Khabarpatrika”, a Nepali weekly. He has been associated with organisations like Social Science Baha, Centre for Investigative Journalism, Toni Hagen Foundation, Society of Translators Nepal, Nepal Photographic Society as one of the founding members. He is also the founding Chair of Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (kimff). Now he heads Himal Association, a social organisation founded in 1991 and dedicated to uplifting social awareness on literature, culture, art and other forms of creative activities.
Advisor
John Porter
John Porter
John Porter has lived much of his life in Northern England specializing in social economic development and project management. But alpinism has been his source of inspiration and energy. As a teenager, he climbed throughout North America. After moving to Britain, he climbed throughout the Alps. In the Himalaya, he made a number of pioneering light weight ascents such as the NE Face of Bandaka and S. Buttress of Changabang. He attempted the West Ridge of Everest in winter (1980/81) without oxygen and the NW Ridge of K2 during the tragic year of 1986. He is a writer and filmmaker. His books, One Day as a Tiger and A Path of Shadows have received international recognition. His film Everest by Those Who Were There was screened at KIMFF in 2021. He was a creator of the Kendal Mountain Festival (1980) and the Mountain Heritage Trust and The National Mountaineering Exhibition (2002). He served as the first American President of the Alpine Club (2017-19) and is the current Hon. Secretary of the Mount Everest Foundation.
Advisor
Sapana Sakya
Sapana Sakya
Sapana Sakya’s background is in journalism and documentary filmmaking. She worked with the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff) to create kimff Doc Lab supporting Nepali filmmakers. Currently, she is the Talent Development & Special Projects Director at the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM). In her previous work with CAAM, she served as Public Media Director, overseeing funding for independent filmmakers. She trained with distinguished filmmaker Jon Else at the University of California, Berkeley and has since produced and directed several documentaries (Daughters of Everest, Red White Blue November, Oklahoma Home). She currently lives in Berkeley, California with her husband and two daughters.
Foundation Secretariat
The year-round team that programmes, produces, and runs the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival.
Executive Director / Festival Director
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu founded the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff) in 2000 with like-minded media colleagues and has since served as festival director. A media practitioner, she has collaborated on several award-winning feature documentaries. She reports for Al Jazeera English TV and is particularly committed to interlinking science and professional practice in dealing with questions of international media development.
DocLab Director
Alok Adhikari
Alok Adhikari
Alok Adhikari runs the Kathmandu Doc Lab at the kimff Foundation. He spearheads initiatives that bridge South Asian storytelling with global audiences. Alok also works as a video editor and has experience editing for TV, web and socials over the last decade.
Admin & Finance Manager / Company Secretary
Rati Sharma
Rati Sharma
Rati Sharma is an administration and finance professional with over 20 years of experience in cultural management, festival operations, and organizational leadership. She oversees Admin & Finance management at kimff Foundation, where she supports the planning and execution of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival. Previously, she worked with South Asia Trust and Panos South Asia, where she managed regional operations and contributed to Film South Asia, seminars, workshops and public engagement events.
Assistant Festival Director / Operations Head
Nishita Thapa
Nishita Thapa
Nishita Thapa Magar is the Assistant Festival Director and Operations Head at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival. With nearly a decade of experience in film festival management, she oversees festival operations, filmmaker and guest coordination, and public engagement initiatives. A member of the film selection committee, she brings experience in international cultural collaboration to her work at one of the region’s foremost platforms for mountain cinema.
Communications Manager
Pabita Basnet
Pabita Basnet
Pabita Basnet is a communications and development professional with nearly a decade of experience across strategic communications, digital engagement, and social development. As Communications Manager at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival, she leads internal and external communications, manages multi-platform digital content, and oversees relationships with media, sponsors, and civil society partners. She is committed to women’s empowerment and gender equality — shaped by her early career in youth leadership with Women Lead Nepal.
2026 Selection Committee
The curators behind kimff 2026 — critics, filmmakers, and programmers who watch, debate, and choose the festival lineup.
Selection Committee
Alok Adhikari
Alok Adhikari
Alok Adhikari runs the Kathmandu Doc Lab at the kimff Foundation. He spearheads initiatives that bridge South Asian storytelling with global audiences. Alok also works as a video editor and has experience editing for TV, web and socials over the last decade.
Selection Committee
Akanchha Karki
Akanchha Karki
Akanchha Karki is a theatre director, actor and educator with a background in mental health. She runs Katha Ghera, a Kathmandu based theatre collective which she founded. Her debut short film Sanai has screened at numerous film festivals at home and abroad.
Selection Committee
Cheteze Tamang
Cheteze Tamang
Cheteze Tamang has spent over ten years helping companies craft their marketing strategies. He has worked extensively in promotion and development of Entrepreneurship at Nepalese Young Entrepreneurs’ Forum (NYEF) and was an Executive Committee member for nine years. He is a founder of ACT360 where he is pursuing his entrepreneurial journey and working on events and campaigns for various organizations.
Selection Committee
Ian Wall
Ian Wall
Ian Wall was part of the organizing team for the first (1980) Kendal Mountain Film Festival (UK), which has now become one of the world’s most prestigious events for outdoor film, literature and adventure enthusiasts. In 2005, he became Kimff’s International Coordinator and Selection Panel member and in 2008 he supported Kimff’s membership of the International Alliance for Mountain Film (IAMF). In 2015 Ian was a judge at the Pakistan International Mountain Film Festival, Lahore. Occasionally Ian works alongside his Kendal Festival colleagues on other mountain film and curating projects as well as his continued commitment to Kimff.
Selection Committee
Nawa Nidhi Dahal
Nawa Nidhi Dahal
Nawa Nidhi Dahal is a writer, director and producer based in Kathmandu. He has a BA in Film Studies and has produced several short films, including The Eternal Journey (2016) and Baghtan (2022) by Sunil Pandey, The Remains (2018) by Manoj Babu Panta, and The Witness Tree (2023) by Niranjan Raj Bhetwal. In 2023 he co-wrote a short film screenplay with Minsho Limbu ‘Summer of Goodbyes’ which he is preparing to direct. He heads a production company Simal Cinema and is associated with Nepal’s oldest film college as an educator. He is pursuing a Master’s degree in Film Studies from Kathmandu University.
Selection Committee
Nishita Thapa Magar
Nishita Thapa Magar
Nishita Thapa Magar is the Assistant Festival Director and Operations Head at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (Kimff). With nearly a decade of experience in film festival management, she oversees festival operations, filmmaker and guest coordination, and public engagement initiatives. A member of the film selection committee, she also brings experience in international cultural collaboration to her work at one of the region’s foremost platforms for mountain cinema.
Selection Committee
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu
Ramyata Limbu is a media practitioner. She has collaborated on several award-winning feature documentaries, including “Daughters of Everest” which followed the first team of all women, Nepali Sherpa climbers to ascend Everest, “The Sari Soldiers” about the conflict in Nepal told through the stories of six women, and, “Drawing The Tiger”, an intimate portrait of the price a Nepali family pays to educate their daughter.
Selection Committee
Sushrut Acharya
Sushrut Acharya
Sushrut Acharya is a writer, translator, and educator based in Lalitpur, Nepal. He is a visiting faculty at the School of Arts, Kathmandu University, where he teaches courses in English and Creative Writing. He also works on the stage and the screen. His work includes teaching Film Studies, academic counselling, and leading a media production company as Creative Director. His translation work has been recognized with the Kalinga Literature Festival First Book Award (Fiction, 2022).
Selection Committee
Sunir Pandey
Sunir Pandey
Sunir Pandey is a director and producer of the feature documentary No Winter Holidays. He has worked as a journalist, translator, and editor, and is also involved in film education at university and workshop settings.
Selection Committee
Sushant Shrestha
Sushant Shrestha
Sushant Shrestha is a Nepali producer active since 2010, transitioning from costume design and assistant direction to producing in 2016. His films have premiered at major international festivals, including Berlin, Busan and Oberhausen. A Berlinale Talents and Global Media Makers fellow, he develops South Asian stories and co-founded Chalachitra Lab, mentoring emerging filmmakers.
Selection Committee
Yubakar Rajkarnikar
Yubakar Rajkarnikar
Yubakar Rajkarnikar is a film festival director, programmer, and media professional with a long-standing engagement in film programming and storytelling. As the Festival Director of the Nepal America International Film Festival (NAIFF) since 2019, and a member of Kimff’s selection committee since 2015, he brings a deep interest in films that explore culture, identity, and social change. He is a peacebuilding, international development, and communications professional with extensive experience in project management and crafting stories that connect communities and ideas.