SATV 25 March, Kathmandu: The 8th Nepal International Film Festival (NIFF) has honored outstanding films and filmmakers, with the national feature film Aakhaa winning the Best National Feature Film Award.

Additionally, Shambala, directed by Min Bahadur Bham, clinched the prestigious Gautam Buddha Award. Director Dinesh Raut received the Best Director Award for Pujar Sarkhi, while the Best Female Actor Award went to actress Anjana Baraili for her role in the same film. The Best Male Actor Award was claimed by RK Mehta for his performance in Aakhaa.

Other notable awards include the Best Cinematographer Award for Rajesh Shrestha and the Best National Screenplay Award for Jowan Yonzan.

On the international front, the Indian film Rukmini bagged the Dunky Aatya Award, while the Argentine film The Abyss received the Manjushree Award (AI Film Award). The Best Short Film Director Award went to Nishan Khatri for his film A Bitterness, and Belgium’s Melting Snow won the Mount Everest Award. Spain's Lucia J. Romero took home the Bagmati Award.

The Satidevi, directed by Laxman Suvedi, was named Best Feature Film, while Devi, a national documentary by Subina Shrestha, won the Best National Documentary Film Award. The Audience Choice Award for Documentary went to Girls Rewriting Destiny. Best Short Film and Best National Short Film Awards were claimed by Nirajan Raj Bhetwal for his movie The Witness Tree.

The festival, held in Kathmandu from 20th March to 24th March, showcased 87 films from 40 countries. The award ceremony was graced by the presence of the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Prithvi Subba Gurung, along with notable figures from the film industry.