Subina Shrestha- Devi

Harita interviews Subina Shrestha about her upcoming film in the NZ Doc Edge Film Festival- Devi.

Award-winning filmmaker and journalist Subina Shrestha has had her stories in the likes of the New York Times and Al Jazeera. Her Al Jazeera documentaries have been used by various educational institutions including Columbia Journalism School and by human rights organisations in the Hague to discuss modern day slavery. Her coverage on Nepal’s earthquake earned her an Emmy nomination. She was also a 2017 Nieman fellow at Harvard.

 Her latest documentary film, Devi which will be screened at the New Zealand Doc Edge Film Festival between 23 June and 31st July,  traces one Nepalese activist’s path from survivor of sexual violence to seeker of justice. In 1997, a 17-year-old Devi, was arrested, accused of being a rebel, tortured, and raped in custody. A civil war had just begun. Rebel leaders revealed her as a rape ‘victim’. Tagged with this shameful taboo, Devi battled depression, social ostracism, joined the rebel frontlines, and rose through the ranks, even serving as a member of the parliament when the war ended. Shot as an immersive verité, the film travels with Devi, as she consolidates the voices of survivors. As Devi confronts her former lawyer and her counsellor, the film dives into deeply intimate and vulnerable moments. Through her diary, supported by archives and sweeping images, Devi reconstructs history erased to rewrite her new destiny.

Devi is screening in Christchurch on 27 June, Auckland and Wellington on 13 July, and virtually 15-31 July.
You can buy tickets here- Devi - Documentary Edge (docedge.nz)

(5) Subina Shrestha | LinkedIn
Subina Shrestha - The Kathmandu Post
'Devi' Traces Path of Sexual Violence Survivor (variety.com)