Kathmandu. The 5th Plenary Meeting of the Film Journalist Association of Nepal has ended with the release of the 13-point Chitwan Manifesto. The meeting held in Chitwan for three days issued a manifesto demanding full implementation of the Working Journalist Act.
General Secretary Raghunath Sapkota said that the meeting decided to hold the second national meeting of the association in the coming March. Dinesh DC, chairman of Film Development Board, interacted in the meeting.
Board Chairman DC, 50 film reporting journalists from all over the country and the owner of a cinema hall in Chitwan participated in the interaction on ‘Nepali Film Market and Film Journalists in Mofasal’. Mofusal journalism and Mofusal hall operators were also discussed in the program.
Main points covered in Chitwan Manifesto
– The decision of the association to move forward in a united manner for the protection of the rights and rights of film journalists. This will ensure professional recognition and safety of journalists. Also, this meeting demands cooperation, support and organization of workshops, seminars, study tours and training for film journalists.
– To increase the responsibility and encouragement in the film journalism profession, a film journalism award and honor fund has been established. Also, the association appeals to all parties to organize a charity program in support of the fund of the association and to support the fund.
– There are various problems, challenges and possibilities in departmental journalism. This meeting requests all film journalists to do professional journalism in a dignified and responsible manner by removing the distortions and inconsistencies seen in recent film journalism.
– Addressing the problem of bit journalism, this meeting requests the relevant agencies to formulate and implement a special plan for its protection and promotion.
– This meeting demands that online newspapers and bit journalism also be covered by public welfare advertisements. Also, this meeting requests the Film Development Board to coordinate and cooperate with the self-employed media that only do film journalism.
– This meeting requests the Government of Nepal to immediately bring the proposed Film Act to replace the Act of 2026 for the development and promotion of independent film industry and Nepali films in order to be effective for all stakeholders.
– Cinema is the main basis of tourism promotion. Therefore, this meeting strongly demands all levels of government and related agencies to decide an effective program for promoting tourism through Nepali cinema.
– This meeting requests the related agencies to encourage, promote and propagate original films with Nepali art, culture and identity and internationally represented Nepali films or filmmakers and filmmakers going to festivals.
– This meeting demands for the full implementation of the Working Journalist Act.
– The Film Journalists Association requests this meeting with the central, provincial and local governments and related parties, including the Ministry of Communications, to increase the concessional subsidy amount to Nepal every financial year.
– This meeting demands to fully implement ‘Real Time Box Office’ which is a problem of Nepali movies. It also requests that the box office report be made public as per the right to information.
– The government of all three levels requests this meeting to advance the program of cinema tourism to present the various tourist areas of Chitwan through Nepali cinema for the promotion of the beautiful city. In addition, this meeting demands that the local government provide concessions for the shooting of Nepali films for the promotion of cinema tourism.
