We’re currently planning another trip for April this year, warming up with a screening of the gorgeous Red Balloon (KKP crowd favourite!) at St Pauls Adventure Playground here in Bristol. Free entry, all ages!
We’ll also be hosting a film making workshop aimed at 8-15 year olds.
A rapt audience at our second Chuchepati screening
We returned to Chuchepati camp the day before we wanted to screen, just to check it was ok, and were greeted enthusiastically by a group of kids who remembered us from our first visit. After meeting one of the teachers there who assured us it would be fine to screen the next day, we were taken on a short tour of the camp by some of the children who wanted to show us their tents – and wanted sweets! Seems Pam’s handing out of lollies after the last screening had set some high expectations, we managed to leave the camp only after assuring the kids we would bring sweets the next day.
A couple of the girls providing pre-screening entertainment
We had many willing hands helping us set up the next day, everyone was clearly excited to have another screening. A short session of singing and a couple of short films got everyone settled; the audience ranged from 100-150 over the evening, including a large percentage of adults! Under a glorious full moon we screened our favourite programme – The Red Balloon and How to Train Your Dragon – both went down an absolute treat, with the audience in thrall until the very end.
I spent much of the second film in conversation with a woman called Kalpana, who is a similar age to me. She told me a lot about her life before the earthquake, and her feelings about living in the camp – she says she is often hungry and cold, and also scared as sometimes people come into the camp to take drugs. Also that she prefers having a boyfriend to getting married, but if she ever does she wants a big white dress rather than the traditional red Nepali women wear!
Screening under the full moon – you can see Kalpana and I in the foreground
We had a visit from the police during our conversation, though I didn’t realise until they told me afterwards as he was in plain clothes but had a walkie talkie. Apparently he was just checking up on what was happening, and was fine with us just screening, but wanted the women to call him after we had left safely. Kalpana mentioned an incident where some tourists had arrived at the camp and started giving out blankets and food – she didn’t go into specifics but the implication was that it had gotten a little hairy, understandably the police want to avoid further occurrences of this. Giving out the sweets after the screening made us realise how that might happen – the kids went wild, crowding around wanting more and more – if they had been adults it would have been pretty frightening!
We left on a high note though, with a bit of a sentimental goodbye – everyone was asking when we would be back, we were pretty sad to have to tell them we wouldn’t be able to return as we now have plans for screening in Bhaktapur, where there are still upwards of 30 camps spread throughout the city. It was a great evening though, we felt like we’d really made an impact on the people of Chuchepati camp.
Alex surrounded by engrossed kids
Second screening at Chuchepati
Massive moon
We’ve had a quiet couple of days on the screening front as today we leave for the villages in Dhading – most of our time has been spent running around Kathmandu getting all the things we need to take with us, and waiting patiently to hear if Shital (who is helping us with many things here) was able to acquire us enough fuel for the trip. He was successful so we leave in a couple of hours for a 7 hour jeep journey, mostly off road – made the mistake of looking at a map of the route, unsurprisingly it is very very windy! It’s also fairly remote, so internet does not exist – you might not hear much from us for a couple of weeks, though we will be trying to send text updates to the home team.
We did have a bit of time out on Friday, Shital invited us to attend his family’s Bhai Tika ceremony, for the last day of Tihar festival. The ceremony celebrates the brother-sister relationship (or similar, so cousins count, and for us, so do friends!) – sisters travel to be with their brothers, blessing them with seven colours of tika powder on their foreheads then placing malas (flower garlands) around their necks and giving them small gifts of money, in thanks for their protection. The brothers do the same in return for each sister, then everyone receives a plate of treats – felt a bit like a Christmas stocking – before all sharing a meal of dhal bat, traditional Nepalese food. It was pretty special to be allowed such a glimpse into Nepalese culture.
Malas and the tray of tika colours ready for the ceremony
Traditional Bhai Tika treats
Alex, Dave and Scruff after the Bhai Tika ceremony
Scruff, Dave and Alex, all ready to go
We made it to Kathmandu on time on Friday, though all the screening kit and our bags didn’t! The baggage hall was absolute chaos, we wish we’d filmed all the shouting people crowding around the carousel and the claims desk. Apparently all bags are late at the moment, the ongoing fuel crisis means that planes are carrying extra cargo and delaying passenger luggage instead. We were advised to return the next day at 4pm – there were huge stacks of bags everywhere, but happily found ours languishing in the back corner. Yay for clean clothes and double yay for being able to go ahead with our planned screenings!
Spot Scruff way at the back successfully finding all our luggage
With our kit safely stowed we headed off to Gary’s palatial accommodation to do our first test screening in the garden. After a bit of trial and error we managed to get it all up and running, so looks like we’re ready to start showing films to the children of Nepal. Well, almost ready – we’re still going through our film collection, trying to decide what will go down well with the kids. Shortlisted some features last night (wow, Bollywood films are so long!), this evening we’re concentrating on shorts. Then tomorrow is our first screening proper, on a football pitch in Naya Bazaar, in central Kathmandu.
We haven’t seen as much obvious earthquake damage as we’d expected (though we’ve only been here 36 hours in central Kathmandu) but the worsening fuel shortage is exacerbating the rebuilding efforts, this article in today’s Kathmandu Post confirms that the true costs of the earthquake go beyond physical damage.
Unicef Executive Director Anthony Kirsopp Lake has warned that a humanitarian crisis is looming for the children of Nepal. “The declining stocks of gas, food and medicines, together with the closure of schools due to political strife in the Tarai and shortages of fuel throughout the country, are not only inflicting damage to the lives of the children now—they threaten the future of the country itself,” Lake said.
Bring the whole family to the Cube next Monday & Tuesday, as we team up with Nanoplex to bring you some half-term entertainment.
Song of the Sea tells the story of Ben and his little sister Saoirse – the last Seal-child – who embark on a fantastic journey across a fading world of ancient legend and magic in an attempt to return to their home by the sea, a world that needs Saoirse to find her voice and sing the ‘Song of the Sea’ to save all of fairy kind from being lost forever. A modern fairy tale which stays true to the celebrated 2D animation style of animation wunderkind Tomm Moore/Cartoon Saloon with a beautiful story for the whole family. Watch the trailer here.
The screening is followed by an animation workshop where you can create and animate your own magical creatures inspired by the lovely Song of The Sea characters – us NKKP travellers will be taking notes so we can do similar workshops with the kids in Nepal.
Monday 26 October 11am & Tuesday 27 October 11am
Tickets: £4/£3. Please note workshop after screening. Event finish approx 1.30pm. Book early to avoid disappointment.
Tickets: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/105735
Cube: https://www.cubecinema.com/programme/event/song-of-the-sea,8290/
Wow, we managed to raise over £750 due to your love of terrible movies – the lovely folk behind Bristol Bad Film Club donated the proceeds from both ticket sales and beer sales, plus you ate ALL the cake & gave us plenty of loose change as well. No amount too small, it all adds up – I should know, I carried £80.67 worth of 1, 2, 5, 10 and 20 pence pieces to the bank, it was heavy!
Many thanks also to Shambala Festival for their generous donation of £700. We’re so close to reaching our target for this trip now, it’s dead exciting!
Can your heart stand the shocking facts about graverobbers from outer space?
On Wednesday October 28th join A/V adventurer DJ Cheeba (Solid Steel) under the stunning Gothic arches of St Mary Redcliffe for a spooktacular live re-score of Plan 9 from Outer Space.
Considered by some to be the worst film of all time, Ed Wood’s disasterpiece is an icon in bad movie making.
Cheeba presents an epic live re-score mixed before your very eyes, with proceeds going to support the Nepal Kids Kino Project.
Bring a jumper and some loose change on the night – it can get chilly in there but we’ll have tea & cake on offer to warm you up.
Tickets are £10 each from Bristol Ticket Shop.
More about the live show at djcheeba.com/live-plan-9-from-outer-space-re-score/
Thanks to DJ Cheeba, St Mary Redcliffe Church and Limbic Cinema for helping make this happen.
Bristol Sunset Cinema are letting us shake buckets again, this time at their screening of 80s space opera Flash Gordon, up at the Clifton Observatory on Saturday 26 September.
American football hero Flash (Sam Jones) is dragged from Earth to the outer reaches of the Universe where he must battle the evil dictatorship of Ming the Merciless (Max von Sydow). He is helped by technical wizard Dr Hans Zarkov (Topol), the winged Prince Vultan (Brian Blessed) and the brooding Prince Barin (a pre-Bond Timothy Dalton). Queen provide the film’s amazing soundtrack.
Adult tickets are £10, kids are just £5. Buy them here.
More information: twitter.com/BristolSunset
Massive thanks to Bristol Sunset Cinema for supporting NKKP with donations of over £150 from last night’s screening of the Princess Bride at Blaise Castle.
We’re also pretty pleased to be #1 on this list of Essential Things To Do In Bristol This September, plus our Josie Long fundraiser was included in last Saturday’s Guardian Guide, and made Bristol24/7’s list of 10 Things To Do This Week. It’s all go around here!
On September 3rd, at the Colston Hall’s Lantern, writer, comedian and creative whirlwind JOSIE LONG will be joined by special guests including GAVIN OSBORN and host MARK OLVER for this special fundraiser in support of the Cube Cinema’s NEPAL KIDS KINO PROJECT. NKKP is a mobile cinema project that screens films to children in rural areas of Nepal displaced from their homes by the recent earthquakes.
Josie won the BBC New Comedy Award at just 17 and has been a regular voice on Radio 4 (as well as Radio 1, 5 & 6!) ever since. You may know her from her podcasts (often with Robin Ince), the telly (Skins, Buzzcocks, 8 out of 10 Cats, The Culture Show), her writing, or for her work with Arts Emergency and the Alternative Reality Tour. Or of course you might know her comedy which has seen her nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award three years in a row and win both the Edinburgh Comedy Newcomer Award in 2006 and the Chortle Newcomer Award in 2005.”
