The Sri Lankan Government has pressurised the Nepali authorities to stop the screening of all three documentaries from Sri Lanka selected for the Film Southasia ‘13 festival of documentaries (FSA).

Films including ‘Broken’ and ‘The Story of One’ (both by director Kannan Arunasalam), and ‘No Fire Zone’ (director Callum Macrae) were pulled from screening, according to FSA.

Broken, is a documentary on a former champion high jumper who reflects on his government’s efforts to bring about reconciliation between communities. It was scheduled to be screened at 1 pm at QFX Kumari, Kamal Pokhari, today.

“FSA protests this unwarranted intrusion into the cultural sphere, an action that goes against the freedom of expression and the right of documentary filmmakers to exhibit their work. This obstructs our festival’s goal of promoting regional understanding in Southasia,”quoting Kanak Mani Dixit, Chair of FSA, the press release states.

Protesting the action, the three films will have a private screening at Yalamaya Kendra on Saturday at 6.30 pm, Nayantara Gurung Kakshapati said.

“The Ministry of Information and Communications had sent a letter to the organiser not to screen the documentries. But the letter has not explained the reason,” Kakshapati said.

However, the documentaries will still remain in competition for the festival awards, she added.

FSA 2013 Jury will be chaired by acclaimed arts editor and cultural journalism professor Sadanand Menon of Chennai, who will be joined by veteran photographer, writer, curator and activist Shahidul Alam of Dhaka and film maker, producer and currently Public Media Director at the Center for Asian American Media (CAAM) Sapana Shakya of Kathmandu. - E Kantipur