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A series of screenings presented in collaboration with Louverture Films that seeks to generate discussions about cinema as a strategy of complexity and plurality and as a resistance to constructed realities
A film directed by Deepak Rauniyar about the damage done to Nepalese society by the decade-long civil war between Maoists and Nepal's monarchical government
Slought and the SP2 Social Justice and Arts Integration Initiative at the University of Pennsylvania are pleased to announce a special screening of White Sun (2016) on Friday, December 7, 2018 from 6-9pm at Slought. It will be followed by a conversation with director Deepak Rauniyar and actress Asha Magarati. This event is free and open to the public, however registration is requested. Please plan to arrive early as registering does not guarantee you a seat. Seating is first come, first served.
Set in the wake of the Nepal civil war, White Sun turns on a series of fraught, at times violent oppositions that emerge after the death of a village paterfamilias. When his father dies, anti-regime partisan Chandra must return to his remote mountain village after nearly a decade away. He finds himself united with the daughter he never met and revisiting uneasy relations with family members and neighbors. Chandra must also face his brother Suraj, who was on the opposing side during the Nepali civil war.
White Sun is a delicately crafted examination of Nepal's difficult rebirth after 20 years of war and unrest. Skillfully blending intimate human drama with sharp political observations, Deepak Rauniyar's outstanding second feature sends a powerful message about the need for tolerance if Nepal is to overcome divisions that remain long after the Comprehensive Peace Accord of 2006.
Deepak Rauniyar became the first Nepali director to compete at a prestigious international film festival. His debut Highway premiered at the Berlinale in 2012. White Sun is his second film and has been screened in over seventy international film festivals including Venice, Toronto, Busan, Singapore and Palm Springs.
Rauniyar is an alumnus of Berlinale Talents and Rotterdam Labs as well as the Cannes - Cinefondation program.
Asha Magrati is the female lead of White Sun. The daughter of an ex-British Gurkha, Magrati grew up in an army camp where movies were screened every weekend. Her first role was in a theater play when she was only thirteen, and she has since acted in numerous plays, TV shows and films.
She acted in Threshold (2009) that premiered at Cannes. This was followed by Highway (2012), which premiered at Berlin International Film Festival and opened the MoMa ConteporAsian cinema series. She is an alumna of the Berlinale Talents and a respected casting director in Nepal.