Archive · 2025
The first edition, and the audience that showed up for it.
KHFF ran for the first time over three nights in 2025, screening 25 films from 15 countries to a live audience in the Kathmandu Valley.
The edition
What KHFF 2025 was.
The first Kathmandu Horror Film Fest ran over three days and closed on the evening of Sunday 02 November 2025. It screened 25 films from 15 countries, treating horror as a form of art and cultural expression rather than a novelty strand inside a general festival.
Academy Vice-president Shiv Puri said the festival was an effort to use film as a medium to connect culture, messages and creativity, and that the event had set a foundation for greater collaboration between Nepali and international filmmakers.
The organisers described the audience turnout as beyond expectations. Attendees called it a hauntingly beautiful experience and a new identity for Nepali horror cinema.
Edition
First
Dates
31 Oct – 02 Nov 2025
Films screened
25
Countries
15
Location
Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Organiser
Nepal Film & Cultural Academy (NFCA)
Opening film
Shaman · Russia · directed by Mikhail Merzlikin
Winners
The 2025 awards.
Four awards were presented on the closing night, 02 November 2025.
Best Feature Film
Labinak
Indonesia | 97 min
directed by Azhar Kinoi Lubis
Best Short Film
A Year of Marriage
Mexico | 19 min
directed by Pablo Camargo López
Jury Special Award
Bokshi
India | 142 min
directed by Bhargav Saikia
Best Youth Filmmaker
Foreigners Only
Bangladesh | 15 min
directed by Nuhash Humayun
Programme
The films, day by day.
Three days of screenings across Halloween 2025.
Day 1
31 Oct 2025 · Friday
12:00
Shaman
Russia
90 min
directed by Mikhail Merzlikin
15:00
A Year of Marriage
Mexico
19 min
directed by Pablo Camargo Lopez
The Leopard
India
19 min
directed by Mukti Krishan
Parvati
India
10 min
directed by Ayaz Pasha
Ek Ekan Teen
Nepal
07 min
directed by Jivan Dahal
Forever in My Heart
Nepal
21 min
directed by Obeid Uddin
17:30
Labinak
Indonesia
97 min
directed by Azhar Kinoi Lubis
Day 2
01 Nov 2025 · Saturday
11:00
Khel
Nepal
130 min
directed by Anurag Pradhan, Astha Shrestha
14:00
Aicha
Morocco
25 min
directed by Sanna El Alaoui
Building 13
Saudi Arabia
09 min
directed by Meshal Almutairi
The Heir
India
19 min
directed by Rohan Apte
Follow You
Canada
03 min
directed by Alexandre Mullen
Down by the Riverside
Nepal
29 min
directed by Anuska Ananda
16:00
Indera
Malaysia
92 min
directed by Ming Jin Woo
18:00
Bokshi
India
142 min
directed by Bhargav Saikia
Day 3
02 Nov 2025 · Sunday
12:00
Pig Hill
U.S.A.
100 min
directed by Kevin Lewis
14:00
Ladies Coffee
U.A.E.
10 min
directed by Amal Al-Agroobi
Rite of Passage
Serbia
10 min
directed by Nikola Radivojeric
Visiting
Italy
09 min
directed by Piero Cannata
The Clayman
Panama / U.S.A.
09 min
directed by Bryan Wesley Lewandowski
Samurai: Soul Slayer
Japan
25 min
directed by Fukui Takamasa
Kichiyeka Fulharu
Nepal
20 min
directed by Shashank Rizal
16:00
Foreigners Only
Bangladesh
15 min
directed by Nuhash Humayun
Vanity’s Mirror
U.S.A.
14 min
directed by Dale Fabrigar
The Ritual
Nepal
60 min
directed by Bishal Roka Magar
Gallery
Photographs from 2025.
Fourteen photographs from the three nights.
01 / 14
02 / 14
03 / 14
04 / 14
05 / 14
06 / 14
07 / 14
08 / 14
09 / 14
10 / 14
11 / 14
12 / 14
13 / 14
14 / 14
The next edition
KHFF 2026 runs across Halloween
The second edition screens 31 October to 02 November 2026 in the Kathmandu Valley. Submissions are open on FilmFreeway until the extended deadline.