Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army
Encyclopedia
Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal's Maoist Army is a 2008
documentary film
directed by American filmmaker Robert Koenig
, and written by Robert Koenig
and Brandon Kohrt. The documentary premiered in Hollywood, CA at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
in 2008 at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival, where it won the Artivist Award for Children's Advocacy.. "Returned" also won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival that same year.
The children describe their dramatic recruitment and participation in the Maoist People’s Liberation Army during the eleven-year civil war between the Maoist insurgents and the Hindu monarch of Nepal. The girls’ stories demonstrate how voluntarily joining the violent Maoist struggle became their only option to escape the gender discrimination and sexual violence of traditional Hindu culture in Nepal. With the major conflict ended and the Maoists in control of the government, these children are now in United Nations cantonments, and return home to communities and families that want nothing to do with them. For many of the children of Nepal’s Maoist Army, the return home can be even more painful than the experience of war.
2008 in film
This is a list of all major films made in 2008.-Highest-grossing films:Please note that following the tradition of the English-language film industry, these are the top grossing films that were first released in the USA in 2008...
documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
directed by American filmmaker Robert Koenig
Robert Koenig (filmmaker)
Robert Koenig is an Emmy Award nominated American film director, producer, writer and editor...
, and written by Robert Koenig
Robert Koenig (filmmaker)
Robert Koenig is an Emmy Award nominated American film director, producer, writer and editor...
and Brandon Kohrt. The documentary premiered in Hollywood, CA at Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre on Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California, is one of the world's most famous movie theatres. Opened in 1922, it was the venue for the first-ever Hollywood premiere.- History :...
in 2008 at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival, where it won the Artivist Award for Children's Advocacy.. "Returned" also won the award for Best Documentary Short at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival that same year.
The Film
"Returned: Child Soldiers of Nepal’s Maoist Army" tells the personal story of Nepali boys and girls as they attempt to rebuild their lives after fighting a Maoist revolution. Through the voices of former child soldiers, the film examines why these children joined the Maoists and explores the prevention of future recruitment.The children describe their dramatic recruitment and participation in the Maoist People’s Liberation Army during the eleven-year civil war between the Maoist insurgents and the Hindu monarch of Nepal. The girls’ stories demonstrate how voluntarily joining the violent Maoist struggle became their only option to escape the gender discrimination and sexual violence of traditional Hindu culture in Nepal. With the major conflict ended and the Maoists in control of the government, these children are now in United Nations cantonments, and return home to communities and families that want nothing to do with them. For many of the children of Nepal’s Maoist Army, the return home can be even more painful than the experience of war.
Honors, Awards and Film Festivals
- "Best Short, Children's Advocacy" 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival, 2008
- "Best Student Work" Society for Visual Anthropology Film Festival, 2008
- "Best Documentary Short" Atlanta Underground Film Festival, 2008
- CARE Film Festival, Johannesburg, South Africa, 2008
- Himalayan Film Festival, Amsterdam, 2009
- Document 7 - International Human Rights Documentary Film Festival, Scotland, 2009
- United States National Academy of Sciences Institute of MedicineInstitute of MedicineThe Institute of Medicine is a not-for-profit, non-governmental American organization founded in 1970, under the congressional charter of the National Academy of Sciences...
- Days of Ethnographic Film, Moscow, Russia, 2009
- Association for Asian Studies Annual Meeting, Philadelphia, PA, 2010
- Anthropology Film Festival at UBC, Vancouver, Canada, 2010
See also
- Military use of childrenMilitary use of childrenThe military use of children takes three distinct forms: children can take direct part in hostilities , or they can be used in support roles such as porters, spies, messengers, look outs, and sexual slaves; or they can be used for political advantage either as human shields or in...
- Nepalese Civil War
- Unified Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist)
- PrachandaPrachandaPuspa Kamal Dahal ; born Chhabilal Dahal on 11 December 1954, also known as Prachanda ]]. Prachanda led CPN as it launched an insurgency on 13 February 1996. In 2008 the ensuing civil war culminated in the overthrow of the Shah dynasty in favor of a communist...
- Robert Koenig (filmmaker)Robert Koenig (filmmaker)Robert Koenig is an Emmy Award nominated American film director, producer, writer and editor...
- Artivist Film Festival 2008 Awards