Celebrate World Leprosy Day – Watch a new Nepali Film – Sunday 31st January
WATCH A WONDERFUL NEW FILM FOR WORLD LEPROSY DAY AND RAISE FUNDS FOR Nepal Leprosy Trust.
World Leprosy Day is almost here again, and will be marked next weekend on Sunday 31st January.
INVITATION TO A PRIVATE SCREENING OF ‘I AM BELMAYA’
NLT has a wonderful opportunity to host the showing of a new film called ‘I AM Belmaya’ made by award winning Nepali film maker Bel Maya Nepali, in partnership with UK film producer and director, Sue Carpenter. The film will be available to watch from 6pm on Sunday 31st January, until Monday 1st February 11pm. We felt this would be an appropriate way to mark World Leprosy Day for NLT in 2021.
A story 14 years in the making, ‘I Am Belmaya’ follows an uneducated young Dalit woman’s transformational journey from subjugated wife to award-winning documentary filmmaker. It is followed by a pre-recorded Q & A session (about 20 minutes) with Sue Carpenter and Bel Maya.
Both James Lowther and I (Mike Houghton) have watched this film, and it is excellent and very moving.
Much of NLT’s work is amongst the Dalit people, so this seems a perfect opportunity to bring the insights in this beautiful documentary to our supporters, and help you to better understand the challenges faced by people from poor and low-caste backgrounds in Nepal. Although this documentary is not about leprosy itself, it is the people represented by this documentary who are most affected by leprosy, and who visit our Leprosy Centre at Lalgadh more than any others.
Viewers should be aware that there is one brief but emotional scene at a police station, with a moment of strong language (in subtitles).
This is a philanthropic event, with a minimum donation requested of £10 per ticket (one per person), but we would be very grateful for donations above this sum. All profits from the viewings will be split equally between Nepal Leprosy Trust (for our work with people affected by leprosy), and Tideturner Films (to fund a public release of the film, with a share going direct to Belmaya and her daughter).
The donations/payments are being managed through the EventBrite ticket system, with the following link: https://nlt-belmaya-screening.eventbrite.co.uk . This link gives more information and some links to trailers for the film. When you click on the green ‘Tickets’ button, you will find just one ticket option – an empty box for you to fill in your donation amount. Please enter a minimum of £10 per person + any extra donation = total amount. Payment can be by debit/credit card, or Paypal. You need to make sure you fill in your email details at the top and bottom of the form (it is easy to miss the lower section). With a successful payment, you will get a ‘Thanks for your Order’ confirmation note.
The viewing link and password will be sent to you about 30 minutes before the screening event opens on Sunday. The link will be active from 6pm on Sunday 31st January and will remain available until 11pm on Monday 1st February to allow those with busy lives to still have an opportunity to view this film.
PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THE VIEWING LINK THAT YOU WILL RECEIVE, AS THE FILM IS NOT YET IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN.
If you have any difficulties with payments or viewing the film, please feel free to contact me (Mike) on my mobile 07932 621391, or email mike@nlt.org.uk
The film is due to be released later this year, but has had some viewings already, to help Bel Maya and several charities. Some comments from viewers include:
- ‘I was totally enthralled by the story and how delightful Bel Maya is. It must have taken a huge amount of strength and determination to persevere with fulfilling her ideas in such an environment of inequality.’
- ‘I so enjoyed that film last night, it was beautifully done. What an incredible story. It’s unbearable to think of how many people’s lives and spirits are squashed by their circumstances. It was such a clever film in the way it exposed that, while tracing the life of someone who had emerged from their difficulties.’
Please support NLT, Bel Maya, and this film, and mark World Leprosy Day by booking a viewing of ‘I am Bel Maya’, and be enthralled with this challenging and enchanting window into the life of this young Nepali woman and so many like her.
