There are two kinds of independent filmmaking today. One is international co-productions that often go through script or co-production labs and gain a certain polish. The other is locally funded films, closer to their roots, that have a rough hewn truth about them—and can also yield gems that are no less precious. Sujit Bidari’s debut feature Aina Jhyal Ko Putali (Butterfly on the Windowpane) in Nepali, is one such, that releases in theatres in Nepal on September 9. The film was at the Busan International Film Festival (Korea) in 2020 and Fribourg International Film Festival, competed at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards (APSA, Australia), and Bidari also won Best Director at the Dhaka International Film Festival. If Min Bahadur Bham’s Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen) was a polished, Nepali international co-production that won the Fedeora Award at the Venice Film Festival, Aina Jhyal ko Putali is a more homegrown film that did the festival circuit—and goes straight to the heart.

Aina Jhyal Ko Putali is the tender story of a sister and brother—older sister Bidya, 13, and little brother Basanta Adhikari, growing up in a Nepali village—as the brother sees his elder sister struggle to follow her dreams of studying further and becoming a poet. It is a beautiful film, feminist in spirit, with superb performances from a cast partly led by non-actors. The film, with autobiographical elements, is Bidari’s critique of Nepali society and how it suppresses women even today.