Highway
Directed by Deepak Rauniyar
Nepal | Drama | Nepali w/ English subtitles | 2012 | 75 min.
All aboard the bus to Kathmandu! As if the mountain terrain weren’t challenging enough, the bus is repeatedly stopped by bandhs—spontaneous civil disobedience blockades—a frequent phenomenon since the end of the civil war. Meanwhile, a young woman can’t decide between her boyfriend and the fiancé arriving to marry her; a gay man hopes to reunite with his estranged lover; a soldier rushes to his wife in time to try out a fertility potion he’s swallowed (not knowing she’s kept some secrets from him); and the bus driver knows the woman he loves may be forced back into prostitution if he doesn’t show up with money for her sick child. Deepak Rauniyar’s debut feature has provoked a tumultuous response from Nepali audiences with its realistic characters and their taboo-shrouded issues. Rendered in an improvised cinematic style that heightens an already wild ride, Highway is being called the harbinger of a new era in Nepali filmmaking.
Jeetan Khadka will introduce the film
Jeetan Khadka, a former Bhutanese refugee who resettled in Burlington, Vermont in 2008, is a very engaged and active youth who believes in the power of the youth voice to make this world a better place in which to live, love, and grow. Born in Bhutan, Jeetan’s family fled to Nepal when he was one and lived in a refugee camp there for 17 years. Lacking basic needs during his upbringing, Jeetan developed an understanding of different walks and struggles in life early on and became inspired to become a youth advocate and international social worker.
Now a Young Adult Navigator at Spectrum Youth & Family Services in Burlington, Jeetan works with transition-age youths. His mission there is to empower at-risk teenagers, young adults, and their families to make and sustain positive changes through prevention, intervention, and life skills services.
