After winning numerous awards and accolades for his debut feature film Kalo Pothi (Black Hen), filmmaker Min Bahadur Bham’s upcoming film, A Year of Cold, has been shortlisted for a grant by the Asian Cinema Fund; it was announced on Monday night. A Year of Cold has been shortlisted under the ACF 2017 Script Development Fund, along with four other projects from countries around Asia. 

Asian Cinema Fund (ACF), which was announced during the 12th edition of South Korea-based Busan Film Festival in 2007, is an “initiative to discover creative, talented Asian filmmakers and support their projects,” and announces funding for Asian films under different categories every year.  Altogether, ACF has selected 23 projects under different categories. 

As part of the Fund, director Bham’s upcoming project will receive up to $10,000.  This is the first time a project from Nepal is being awarded with the prestigious fund.  A Year of Cold, to be filmed under the banner of Shooney Films, will be Min Bahadur Bham’s second feature directorial. 

Bham rose to fame with 2015’s acclaimed Kalo Pothi, which tells the story of two adolescent boys’ search for a missing hen in the war-stricken Karnali. 

The film went on to win several accolades internationally, including the Best Film award at Venice International Film Festival, Critics Week, 2015. The movie also proved to be a moderate Box Office success upon its release around the 

country, raking in a respectable Rs 30,000,000. Before Kalo Pothi, Bham had one short film—Bansulli (2012)—to his credit. 

According to director Bham, A Year of Cold tells the story of an innocent, pregnant young girl forcefully married to two brother at once (the film is shot in Nepal’s northern Himalayas where polygamy is still in practice), and the journey she take along with her second husband to find the missing one. The journey teaches her lessons about love and loss and ultimately strengthens her, making her independent and self-reliant. The film, the producers have said, will be about the connection the characters make between the ‘samsaric’ world and the spiritual one, and finding the meaning of love, compassion and sacrifice. 

The filming of A Year of Cold will start on 2019.