Kathmandu Doc Lab 2026

We are thrilled to announce the selected projects for Kathmandu Doc Lab 2026!

Selected Projects

All About My Father

Golam Muntakim | Bangladesh

Chahnu Wanmang (Leopard’s Dream)

Mankap Nokwoham |
India

Ghosts of the Mountains

Lhakpa Choedon Lama & Sushil Sapkota | Nepal

In Between Rains

Sudarshan Hake |
India

Moving Mountains

Lobzang Wangtak & Akshat Jain | India

Sound of Chewing Leaves

Suraj Bhattarai | Bhutan

Stolen Times

Arifur Rahman |
Bangladesh

The Emergency Exit

Mahnoor Batool & Shahnawaz Ahmed Khan | Pakistan

Whisper of the Warm Spring

Samten Gurmat & Sonam Norbu | India

Mentors

Anam Abbas

Anam Abbas is an award-winning filmmaker, director of “This Stained Dawn” (Sheffield, Yamagata, 2021) and producer behind “Showgirls of Pakistan” (IDFA, 2020) and “In Flames” (Cannes, TIFF, Busan, Sitges). Anam has served on the selection jury for Berlinale Talents Doc Station, Sheffield Meet Market. She is a founding member of the Documentary Association of Pakistan, programming the Chalta Phirta Film Festival, and runs intensive Doc Labs in Pakistan.

Arun Bhattarai

Arun Bhattarai is a Bhutanese documentary filmmaker known for acclaimed works like, “Agent of Happiness, “The Next Guardian”, and Mountain Man”. His latest, Agent of Happiness debuted at The Sundance Film Festival, where it was a grand jury prize nominee. His films have been awarded at major festivals and theatrically released around the world. Bhattarai specializes in intimate, culturally nuanced storytelling. His films have been supported by Sundance, Catapult and IDFA Bertha Fund.

Sarvnik Kaur

Rintu Thomas is an Academy Award-nominated, Peabody-winning Indian filmmaker whose body of work sits at the intersection of storytelling as an art and a dialogue. Her double Sundance-winning ‘Writing With Fire’ (2021) is India’s first Oscar-nominated feature documentary. Rintu is a recipient of the IDA Courage Under Fire Award, the President’s Medal in India and a co-founder of Black Ticket Films. Her critically acclaimed work is centered on creating powerful, socially engaged documentaries that amplify underrepresented voices.

Observers

The Observer track is designed for emerging storytellers who wish to learn the ropes of international co-production. Eight observers have been selected for Kathmandu Doc Lab 2026. They are:

Bedhika Pudasaini (Nepal)
Bishal Bisht (Nepal)
Shuvangi Khadka (Nepal)
Viktor Kelemen (Hungary/Nepal)
Lobsang Phuntso (India)
Narmeen Ijaz (Pakistan)
Priyanka Verma (India)
Megha Khoda (India)

Partners

Supported By

Kathmandu Doc Lab 2026 is supported by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). It is further supported by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs and the Institut Français, as part of the strategy to promote the international export of Cultural and Creative Industries.