Kathmandu, September 8:

With the objective of fighting for their rights to freedom of expresssion and expressing solidarity with the ongoing movement launched by the civil society for the restoration of democracy, Nepali film-makers have formed a 24-member Democratic Film-makers’ Forum (DFF). The forum took shape after a meeting of the film-makers, which was held yesterday.

Desh Bhakta Khanal and Nil Hari Kafle are the coordinator and member-secretary of the forum. “The right to expression cannot be practised without democracy,” the forum said in a press release issued here today. Stating that the move taken by the King on October 4, 2002 and the Royal takeover had snatched all the rights enjoyed by the civil society, the forum said:

“Time has come to fight for democracy.” “The DFF will work towards building a democratic culture and nourishing democratic values within the film industry,” the press release said, adding: “The DFF will also protest against the censorship imposed on films and take initiatives

to protect the rights of professionals associated with film-making.”