Kathmandu: The demand for the withdrawal of the Film Bill, currently under consideration by the Legislation Management Committee of the National Assembly (NA), has led to a decision to organize a tri-party meeting.
According to National News Agency Nepal, during a meeting involving the Committee, the government, and concerned stakeholders, participants urged that the bill be retracted. Minister for Communications and Information Technology, Jagdish Kharel, suggested convening tri-party discussions to clarify stakeholders’ concerns and address dissenting issues comprehensively. The Minister emphasized that starting over with the bill would not be ideal and encouraged the Committee to strive towards achieving productive outcomes.
Committee President Tulasha Kumari Dahal noted that the Committee had already consulted with nine related organizations, although some groups were collectively advocating for the bill’s withdrawal. The upcoming meeting will include representatives from the Nepal Film Producers’ Association, Nepal Motion Pictures Association, Film Artistes Association of Nepal, Federation of Indigenous Nationalities Film, and Nepal Film Directors Guild, among others.
Censorship, the autonomy of the Film Board, loan facilities under the industry category, and health insurance are among the primary concerns related to the bill, Dahal explained. She highlighted that restarting the bill process would incur additional costs and time.
There is also ongoing debate regarding which ministry should oversee the film industry. Minister Kharel argued that assigning the film industry to the Ministry of Tourism or the Ministry of Industry is impractical. Given that scriptwriting, pre-production, production, technical aspects, post-production, and broadcasting are closely linked to communications, Kharel asserted that it is appropriate for the film industry to remain under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology.