Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary
Grant Winners 2026

Deepali Shrestha for I will be back with a pen

Deepali Shrestha is a writer and visual storyteller from Dharan who draws on her background in journalism and photography to explore themes of home, identity, and memory.

Deepali received the Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary Grant I Will Be Back with a Pen.

In the late 1930s, her great grandfather promised to bring her grandmother a pen from his trip to India, but never returned home. Thirty years later, the train that ran from her hometown in eastern Nepal to the border town in India also disappeared. Through the people and the landscape of the Koshi basin, the film traces what remains when visions of progress are imagined, erased, and repeated. It screened in the Nepal Panorama section at kimff 2026.

Prashanna Shakya for My Mom is a Bodybuilder

Prashanna Shakya is a Kathmandu-based filmmaker with a decade of experience collaborating with development organisations and brands, leveraging a Master’s in Advertising and Design to craft rhythm-driven, culturally rich documentaries and commercials.

Prashanna received the Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary Grant for his project My Mum is a Bodybuilder.

Set in the tradition-bound city of Bhaktapur, within a Newar household, the film follows a 42-year-old mother, a bodybuilding champion and powerlifter, as she pursues her sport while navigating the expectations of her traditional Newar community. Told through the perspective of her two sons, who also serve as co-authors and cinematographers, it traces their journey of documenting her life, only to discover a new way of seeing her beyond the role of a mother.

The film premiered in the Nepal Panorama section at kimff 2026, where it won Best Documentary, the first Toni Hagen grant film to win the award.

Sudipa Mahato for Jagu

Sudipa Mahato is a writer, visual storyteller, and media student. She prioritises emotional honesty and raw human narratives over polished aesthetics, and her work focuses on feeling, intimacy, and the stories of everyday life.

Through the Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary Grant, Sudipa is completing her film Jagu.

After sixty years of companionship, Yogeshwori and Dilip navigate illness and ageing, discovering that their love is still finding room to grow.

The Toni Hagen Foundation, in collaboration with kimff, invites young Nepali filmmakers to apply for the Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary Grant 2026, offering Rs. 2,00,000 each (NPR. 1,70,000 after taxes) for three outstanding short documentary projects. This grant supports short, creative, and impactful documentaries that delve into Nepali society, its cultural and historical dimensions, and pressing socio-cultural and environmental issues.

kimff and the Toni Hagen Foundation have proudly supported the creation of 20 films since 2019, which have gone on to be screened at film festivals around the world and win awards at the Nepal International Film Festival (Lahureni, Bishal Magar, 2022) and Film South Asia (Gaine, Pradeep Dhakal, 2019; Lahureni, Bishal Magar, 2022; Wagging Tale, Samagra Shah, 2024). This year, we are calling for applications from filmmakers who are prepared to submit well-developed concepts and commit to completing their projects within the given time frame.

Grant Focus

The grant seeks to support films that:

  • Provide original insights into Nepal’s society, culture, history, and development.

  • Highlight social, cultural, environmental, or ethnographic aspects of Nepal.

  • Engage the audience with creative storytelling and thoughtful visual design.

Eligibility

  • Applicant must from Nepal

  • Applicants must be filmmakers who are yet to make a feature length documentary

  • Applicant must have proven access to your subject, theme, or community they are making their film about.

  • Applicants must present an audio/visual portfolio or sample of previous work and their role in making of the project(s)

  • Projects must propose a film of 10 to 20 minutes in length, focusing on concise and compelling storytelling.

Selection Criteria

The selection committee will assess projects based on the following:

  • Story and Concept: Does the film explore timely and relevant themes? Are the topics engaging, with clear subject matter and thoughtfully developed questions?

  • Artistic Approach: We encourage diverse approaches, including personal, experimental, animated, essayistic, or archival storytelling, and beyond.

  • Access and Connection: Has the filmmaker clearly defined their relationship to the subject, participants, and community, and are they mindful of ethical practices in portraying them?

  • Feasibility and Impact: Is the project achievable within the scope and timeline, and will this grant significantly advance the project’s development

Support Provided

Selected projects will receive:

  • Mentorship and feedback sessions with the kimff Doc Lab team throughout the production process.

  • Mentorship from an advisory board of established Nepali and South Asian film professionals

  • Technical guidance and support, as needed, to ensure the films meet professional standards.

Important dates and deadlines

 

 

November 12 THF Grant 2026 Open Call Launches
December 12 THF Grant 2026 Application Deadline
December 12 to 30 kimff Doc Lab team reviews applications in a two-round process
January 5, 2026 Announcement of Grant Winners
January 5 to March 31 Production phase, with parallel mentoring and feedback sessions led by the kimff Doc Lab team.
April 20 Submission of the film’s rough cut.
April 21 to May 15 Final round of post-production with parallel support of kimff Doc Lab team
May 27 to May 31 kimff 2026

Screening Opportunity

The supported films will be premiered at kimff 2026, held from May 27 to May 31, 2026, offering filmmakers a platform to showcase their work to an engaged audience of film enthusiasts and industry professionals.

Do you have a project?

We highly encourage that you read the application guidelines below before applying.

Note: In case of any difficulty in submission of this application due to disability or language barrier, please feel free to write to the following e-mail address: [email protected]

Toni Hagen Foundation

Documentary Grant 2026

Previous Winners

About the kimff Foundation

The kimff Foundation is a private, non-for-profit sharing company dedicated to cultivating an informed, dynamic and resilient Nepali society through the power of stories. We do this by exhibiting, funding and producing works in film, media arts and digital media. As a vehicle for educational, humanitarian, and cultural exchange, we present authentic stories about the rich diversity of Nepal to a wide audience through these mediums.

Since the year 2000, kimff has brought an eclectic mix of films from around the world focusing on mountain communities and cultures to Nepali audiences. It has screened hundreds of films and organized discussions on the state of the mountains and their societies – issues ranging from the political determination of mountain communities, to the emergence of identity politics in adventure sports all the way to the effects of climate change on mountainous regions. 

About Toni Hagen Foundation

The Toni Hagen Foundation was set up in honour of the Swiss geologist and development philosopher Toni Hagen (1917-2003). Over the course of the 1950s and 60s, first as a Swiss development official and later as a United Nations expert, Toni Hagen trekked through a largely uncharted Nepal and wrote about its history, people, geography and economy of what till then was still a largely “forbidden” kingdom. He introduced Nepal to the world and to Nepalis.

The Foundation supports the publication and production of content and activities to enhance the knowledge base of the Himalayan region among young Nepalis. Since 2019 the Toni Hagen Foundation Documentary Grant has supported the production of 17 short Nepali documentary films. The films have gone one to screen at the Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF), Film Southasia (FSA), the Nepal Human Rights International Film Festival and the International South Asian Film Festival Canada. Click here to see full details off all the Toni Hagen Grantees to date.