National Film Day

National Film Day falls on Asoj 15. In 2083, that is Thursday, 1 October 2026

This is one of Nepal's newest official days. The government decided on it in Asadh 2082, which was June 2025. The first one was marked on Asoj 15 that same year.

The date was not picked at random. On Asoj 15, 2022, a film called Aama was shown to the public for the first time. It was the first Nepali feature film made in Nepal. Everything the Nepali film industry has done since then started with that screening.

In Nepali the day is called राष्ट्रिय चलचित्र दिवस.

Quick Facts About National Film Day

When Is National Film Day?

Asoj 15. In 2083, that is Thursday, 1 October 2026.

Here is the useful part. This date never moves.

Most big Nepali festivals follow the moon. Dashain, Tihar, Teej and Janai Purnima are all tied to a tithi, so their English date changes every year. Ghatasthapana jumped nineteen days this year because of an extra lunar month.

National Film Day is different. It is fixed to Asoj 15 in the Nepali solar calendar. Asoj 15 lands on 1 October almost every year, give or take a day.

One thing to note for 2083. Asoj 15 falls inside Sohra Shraddha, the fortnight of rites for the ancestors. Panchami Shraddha and Sasti Shraddha are both on this day.

Why Asoj 15?

Because of one screening in 2022 BS.

The Film Development Board asked the government to protect and promote the history of Nepali cinema. It proposed marking the day Nepali filmmaking formally began in Nepal. That day was the first public screening of Aama.

The Board's position is that the Nepali film sector carries sixty years of history, that the first Nepali feature film made in Nepal was Aama, and that it was shown to the public for the first time on Asoj 15, 2022, a Friday. So Asoj 15 should be National Film Day every year.

The Council of Ministers agreed. The decision is dated 2082/3/13.

The timing fits. The Film Development Board marked its own twenty-fifth anniversary in Asadh 2082. In the same period, the government issued a postage stamp carrying the poster of Aama. National Film Day came out of that same moment.

Aama: The Film Behind the Day

Aama means mother. It is the film the whole day is built on.

What it is about

A young man named Man Bahadur leaves home and joins the army. He comes back after his service and finds that his mother has died.

He thinks about leaving the country again. His neighbours tell him that serving the motherland is as good as serving a mother. He stays, and puts his work into building up the country.

The message was direct. It was a government film, and it was meant to say something.

Who made it

Why it took so long

Nepal had no film laboratory at the time. There was no place in the country to develop or print a film, and no sound studio.

So the shooting happened in Nepal, and everything after that had to be sent to Kolkata. That part alone took months. The whole project ran close to a year.

This is worth remembering when people ask why Nepali cinema started so late. The cameras were not the problem. The problem was that a finished film could not be made inside the country.

Was Aama Really the First Nepali Film?

This is the question people ask most, and the answer needs one careful line.

Aama was the first Nepali feature film made in Nepal. That is the exact claim, and it is the claim the government used when it created National Film Day.

It was not the first film in the Nepali language. That was Satya Harishchandra, released on 14 September 1951. But Satya Harishchandra was made in Kolkata, not in Nepal.

So the two records are different:

Aama holds the middle record. That is why the day exists.

A Note on the Date of Aama

You will see different dates for Aama in different places, so here is the position clearly.

The Film Development Board says the first public screening was Asoj 15, 2022, a Friday. The Board's own history book carries the same date. The cabinet decision creating National Film Day is built on it. That date works out to 1 October 1965, and 1 October 1965 was indeed a Friday.

The Film Development Board says the first public screening was Asoj 15, 2022, a Friday. The Board's own history book carries the same date. The cabinet decision creating National Film Day is built on it. That date works out to 1 October 1965, and 1 October 1965 was indeed a Friday.

Some English sources give October 1964 instead. Nepali Wikipedia gives Asoj 22, 2021. These do not agree with each other either.

This page follows the Film Development Board, because the Board is the government body responsible for the sector and its date is the legal basis of the day. The sixty-year count also fits: 1965 to 2025 is exactly sixty years.

A Short History of Nepali Cinema

What Happens on National Film Day

The day is new, so the pattern is still forming. So far it has been marked with:

• Programmes by the Film Development Board and film sector organisations
• Honouring senior artists, directors and technicians
• Screenings of old Nepali films, including Aama
• Discussions on preserving old film prints, which is the reason the Board pushed for the day in the first place

It is not a public holiday. Cinemas, offices, and schools run as normal.

Why the Day Matters

The Film Development Board's reason was preservation, not celebration.

Old Nepali film prints are fragile. Many early films exist in poor condition or not at all. A film made in 2022 BS was shot on physical stock, and physical stock does not last without care.

A national day gives that work a fixed place in the year. It puts the history of Nepali cinema in front of people once a year, on the same date.

Frequently Asked Questions About National Film Day

When is National Film Day in Nepal?

→ Asoj 15 every year. In 2083, that is Thursday, 1 October 2026.

What is National Film Day called in Nepali?

→ राष्ट्रिय चलचित्र दिवस, or Rastriya Chalchitra Diwas.

Does the date change every year?

→ No. It is fixed on Asoj 15 in the Nepali solar calendar, so it falls on 1 October almost every year. It does not follow the moon the way Dashain and Tihar do.

Who declared National Film Day?

→ The Council of Ministers of the Government of Nepal, by a decision dated 2082/3/13. The Film Development Board proposed it.

Why was Asoj 15 chosen?

→ Because the film Aama was shown to the public for the first time on Asoj 15, 2022. That was the formal start of Nepali filmmaking in Nepal.

When was the first National Film Day?

→ Asoj 15, 2082, which was 1 October 2025. That was sixty years after Aama.

Is National Film Day a public holiday?

→ No. Offices, schools and cinemas run as normal.

What was the first Nepali movie?

→ Aama was the first Nepali feature film made in Nepal. The first film in the Nepali language was Satya Harishchandra, released in 1951, but that one was made in Kolkata.

What does Aama mean?

→ Mother.

Who directed Aama?

→ Hira Singh Khatri. It was his first film as a director.

Who acted in Aama?

→ Shiva Shankar Manandhar and Bhuwan Chand played the lead roles. Basundhara Bhusal, Hari Prasad Rimal, and Chaitya Devi Singh were also in it.

Who produced Aama?

→ The government's publicity department, under King Mahendra.

What is the story of Aama?

→ A young man named Man Bahadur joins the army. He returns home after his service and learns that his mother has died. His neighbours tell him that serving the motherland is as good as serving a mother, so he stays in Nepal and works for the country.

Where was Aama shot?

→ In Nepal, including Pokhara. But all the post-production work, the editing, dubbing, mixing, developing, and printing was done in Kolkata, because Nepal had no film laboratory at the time.

Where was Aama first shown?

→ At Ranjana Cinema Hall in Kathmandu.

How much did Aama cost?

→ More than two lakh rupees, according to the Film Development Board's history book on Nepali cinema.

Why do different sources give different dates for Aama?

→ Some English sources give October 1964, and Nepali Wikipedia gives Asoj 22, 2021. The Film Development Board says Asoj 15, 2022, a Friday. This page follows the Board, because its date is the basis of the cabinet decision that created National Film Day.

Which was the first private Nepali film?

→ Maitighar, released in 1966. Aama and the films right after it were government productions.

What is the Film Development Board?

→ It is the government body for the Nepali film sector, established in 2057 BS. It marked twenty-five years in 2082 BS. It proposed National Film Day.

Is National Film Day the same as World Cinema Day?

→ No. National Film Day is a Nepali observance on Asoj 15, tied to the first Nepali film made in Nepal.

What else falls on Asoj 15 in 2083?

→ International Day of Older Persons, Panchami Shraddha, and Sasti Shraddha. Asoj 15 falls inside Sohra Shraddha this year.