WFA 2021 Home Schedule Explore the Film Guide Education Parties News+Reviews GET TICKETS
Veemsen Lama believes in karma. “What goes around, comes around,” he explains. His feature-length horror film The Puppet (Kathaputali) is a slow burn story of a power struggle between father and son, a disturbed family, confrontation and ultimate empowerment. Trapped in an abandoned royal palace, a young prince must confront the unsettling secrets of his family’s past, escape evil forces and battle dark magic in order to survive.
By Cristina Slattery
See the World Premiere of feature-length Horror Film The Puppet on Sunday September 26 @ 8:30 PM at Cinema Village (22 East 12th Street) as part of Bloody Sunday at New York City’s 10th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival. Tickets now on sale!
Lama is originally from Chitwan, Nepal, an over-four-hour drive from the capital of Kathmandu. He is a former Gurkha soldier who served in the British army for fourteen years; only two hundred spots are reserved for those from Nepal who wish to become Gurkha soldiers in the British Army every year – and typically 28,000 apply to get these coveted spots.
Now living in London, Lama’s greatest challenges include both going to war in Iraq and also the stress of making his film, Kathaputali – The Puppet. The British-American film director, Christopher Nolan, as well as Martin Scorsese are two directors Lama admires most and he adds M. Night Shyamalan and documentary filmmaker, Matthew Heineman, to the list too.
“We have many untold organic stories in Nepal which Western audiences…need to experience. As a Nepali, if I don’t tell our stories, who will?” he asks. Lama finds the horror and thriller genres most intriguing to him and says that Nepalese people are very superstitious. Lama notes that “if you see a dead body,” for example, “it is a sign of good luck” in Nepal. He adds that many people rely on shamans in villages to treat diseases and also regrets that some people are still killed for being witches in remote places in the country.
The history of the Nepalese monarchy is filled with tragedy, Lama emphasizes, and some elements of the film were related to and inspired by those events. The majority of Nepalese are Hindu, but, as previously described, witchcraft and superstition are part of life in the mountainous country too.
The character of Budi Amai, a complicated one, is the one that fascinates Lama the most. She appears to be one type of person in the beginning of the film, but is revealed to be quite different as the film continues. “I want the audience to be connected with her and leave up it up to the audience to determine whether she has done right or wrong,” Lama explains. The puppets, important characters as well, symbolically represent “evil and good in the society…we must pay the price of our deeds,” Lama continues.
The film is dedicated to the late Ganesh Munal, a revered actor in Nepal who died during filming in 2019 (he plays the royal astrologer character in the film.)
For fans of horror, of which there are many worldwide, it is a treat to see the story unfold. Even if you aren’t a horror fan, this film will still intrigue you. The visual elements of the puppets and superstitious/religious rituals as well as some shots of the landscape and the old palace where much of the action takes place, are compelling.
Lama had first wanted to make a film based in one location such as a haunted house, but the shape of the story changed. Those involved in the project as directors, editors, and producers came from London, New York, Hong Kong, and Nepal; but the actors were all local Nepali. They shot for almost twenty nights in Kathmandu and traveled by bus for ten hours to reach Palpa, the location of a dilapidated palace, where they shot for ten more days.
Lama has a more Nepali horror scripts and a romantic comedy script that he wants to make in the English language, but all will be set in Nepal. He’s looking for producers, investors, and collaborators.
Kathaputali – The Puppet is the work of a dedicated filmmaker who knows how to engage an audience with the right amount of fear, suspense, and conflict. Let’s hope more Nepali stories are shown in films in the future – and that Veemsen Lama is involved in creating them!
Cristina Slattery
Cristina Slattery has written for publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek Japan, Forbes Travel Guide, Harvardwood Highlights, Roads & Kingdoms, The Winter Film Festival, FoodandWine.com, Words Without Borders, AFAR.com, Travel+Leisure.com, several airline magazines and other national and international magazines and websites.
About Winter Film Awards
New York City’s 10th Annual Winter Film Awards International Film Festival runs September 23-October 2 2021. Check out a jam-packed lineup of 91 fantastic films in all genres from 28 countries, including shorts, features, Animation, Drama, Comedy, Thriller, Horror, Documentary and Music Video. Hollywood might ignore women and people of color, but Winter Film Awards celebrates everyone!
Winter Film Awards is an all volunteer, minority- and women-owned registered 501(c)3 non-profit organization founded in 2011 in New York City by a group of filmmakers and enthusiasts. The program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council and the NY State Council on the Arts.
