White Sun or Seto Surya is a 2016 biographical war drama film directed by Deepak Rauniyar and co-written by Rauniyar, David Barker. It stars Dayahang Rai and Rabindra Singh Baniya in the lead roles alongside Asha Magrati, Sumi Malla, Amrit Pariyar, Deepak Chetri and Deshbhakta Khanal. The film is based on Nepalese Civil War's conflict between royalists and Maoists.[1]

White Sun
Poster of the movie
Film poster
सेतो सुर्य
Directed byDeepak Rauniyar
Written byDeepak Rauniyar
David Barker
Produced byDeepak Rauniyar
Joslyn Barnes
Tsering Rhitar Sherpa
Michel Merkt
StarringDayahang Rai
Rabindra Singh Baniya
CinematographyMark Ó'Fearghail
Edited byDavid Barker
Music byVivek Maddala
Release date
  • 6 September 2016 (2016-09-06) (Venice Film Festival)
Running time
89 minutes
CountriesNepal
Netherlands
Qatar
United States
LanguageNepali

It world premiered in the Horizons section at the 73rd edition of the Venice Film Festival.[2] It was later screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.[3] It was selected as the Nepali entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 90th Academy Awards, but it was not nominated.[4]

Plot

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When his father dies, anti-regime partisan Chandra must travel to his remote mountain village after nearly a decade away. Little Pooja is anxiously awaiting the man she thinks is her father, but she's confused when Chandra arrives with Badri, a young street orphan rumored to be his son. Chandra must face his brother Suraj, who was on the opposing side during the Nepali civil war. The two brothers cannot put aside political feelings while carrying their father's body down the steep mountain path to the river for cremation. Suraj storms off in a rage, leaving Chandra with no other men strong enough to help. Under pressure from the village elders, Chandra must seek help from outside the village to obey the rigid caste and discriminatory gender traditions he fought to eliminate during the war. Chandra searches for a solution in neighboring villages, among the police, guests at a local wedding, and rebel guerrillas...

Cast

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Awards

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Awards Category Recipient(s) Outcome
Fribourg International Film Festival Audience award Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
Don Quixote Award Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
Ecumenical Jury Award Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
Special Mention Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
Grand Prix Deepak Rauniyar (director) Nominated
Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Best Asian Film Deepak Rauniyar (director) Nominated
Palm Springs International Film Festival New Voices/New Visions Grand Jury Prize Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
International Film Festival Rotterdam KNF Award Deepak Rauniyar (director) Nominated
Singapore International Film Festival Best Film Deepak Rauniyar (director) Won
Venice Film Festival Interfilm Award Deepak Rauniyar (director)
Aadi Productions (production company)
Louverture Films (production company)
Waterland Film (co-production)
Match Factory, The (distributor)
Won
Best Film Deepak Rauniyar (director) Nominated

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Chhabra, Aseem (22 October 2016). "A chat with Deepak Rauniyar about his latest film, White Sun". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 15 March 2023.
  2. ^ Neil Young (5 September 2016). "'White Sun' ('Seto Surya'): Film Review Venice 2016". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
  3. ^ Cameron Bailey. "White Sun - Seto Surya". TIFF. Archived from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 1 November 2016.
  4. ^ Bhushan, Nyay (21 August 2017). "Oscars: Nepal Selects 'White Sun' for Foreign-Language Category". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 13 October 2020.
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