The people in the room
Mentored by filmmakers who have done it.
A small team at the kimff Foundation runs the Lab, with mentors from across South Asia and advisors from the international documentary industry.
Mentors
Four mentors across two editions
Rintu Thomas
India. Academy Award-nominated director of Writing With Fire.
Anam Abbas
Pakistan. Producer of In Flames, director of This Stained Dawn.
Arun Bhattarai
Bhutan. Director of Agent of Happiness.
Sarvnik Kaur
India. Director of Against the Tide.
Team
Run by the kimff Foundation
Alok Adhikari
Director, Kathmandu Doc Lab
Alok runs the Kathmandu Doc Lab at the kimff Foundation. Before that he spent five years as Assistant Director of Film Southasia, the documentary festival in Kathmandu, and he has read and sat on selection panels for the IDFA Forum, Sheffield DocFest and Chicken & Egg Films. He is also an editor: he started as an assistant editor at VICE Media in New York and has since cut short films, a 26-episode documentary series and a feature.
The Kathmandu Doc Lab is run by the kimff Foundation, the organisation behind the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival.
Advisors
Advice from the industry
Jane Mote
The Whickers, UK
Nilotpal Majumdar
Docedge Kolkata, India
Rajan Kathet
Filmmaker, Nepal
Selection committee, 2025 and 2026
Who chose the nine
Reena Mohan, Kesang Tseten, Ramyata Limbu, Sunir Pandey and Alok Adhikari.
Live Pitch jury 2026
Who decided the Best Pitch
Tin Dirdamal, filmmaker and editor, Mexico. Sunah Kim, producer, South Korea. Pranay Limbu, documentary filmmaker, Nepal.
Want to be in the room?