Oscars 2020: Nepal selects Binod Paudel's Bulbul as official entry for next year's Academy Awards

Nepal has selected Bulbul as its entry for the Oscars’ International Feature Film category at the 2020 Academy Awards. Binod Paudel’s debut feature stars Swastima Khadka, who plays a female truck driver battling myriad challenges, from patriarchy to health care, as she struggles to make a living in the country’s capital city of Kathmandu, reported The Hollywood Reporter. [caption id=“attachment_7305571” align=“alignnone” width=“825”] A still from Bulbul. YouTube[/caption] Her troubles are compounded because her husband, a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia, faces difficulties in sending her money, throwing light on the impact of migration on females who are left behind by their husbands that seek employment away from home. The film, which released in Nepal in February, also stars Mukun Bhusal. Bulbul bagged multiple honours at the country’s National Awards, winning best director for Paudel and best actor for Khadka. Paudel’s other credits include the screenplay for 2013’s award-winning Saanghuro. Nepal has only scored one nomination at the Oscars, with 1999’s Himalaya, directed by filmmaker Eric Valli, which was the country’s first submission in the foreign-language category. The country’s 2017 entry White Sun featured Danny Glover as one of its executive producers. In total, Nepal has submitted eleven films over the years, including last year’s Panchayat. The 92nd Academy Awards will take place on 9 February, 2020. Watch the trailer here.