Asha Magrati and Deepak Rauniyar Oral History Interview

DESCRIPTION
Asha Magrati and Deepak Rauniyar speak about caste and ethnicity as a Hill Dalit and Madhesi couple, about hiding caste in Kathmandu, how caste can be hidden but not the skin color/ethnicity, and how casteism and colorism continue from Nepal to US. They also speak about the privileged position they are in now that allows them to speak up without fearing about their own safety, a luxury still not available to many in the Nepali community.

In this slideshow, you will see: Asha and Deepak at the Berlin International Film Festival 2022 award ceremony red carpet in Germany. Four Nights premiered at Berlinale's international short competition and was nominated for the prestigious Golden Bear Awards. Photo courtesy of Berlin Film Festival. © Dorothea Tuch / Berlinale

Asha and Deepak at the Fribourg International Film Festival 2017 in Switzerland, after winning the Ecumenical award for their second feature film White Sun. The film won four awards at the festival, including the Audience Award for Best Feature Film. Photo curtesy of Fribourg Film Festival. © Nicolas-Brodard /Fribourg

At the set of Nepali feature film Karma, Assistant Director Deepak Rauniyar is briefing actor Asha Magrati about a scene she was going to perform. It was where they first met. Their relationship developed over time over many other artistic collaborations, and a people's movement for democracy.

Asha and Deepak at the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival 2008. KIMFF was the first film festival Asha and Deepak attended. Their first short, Chaukaith (Threshold), not only premiered in international competition but was the opening film of the KIMFF 2008 and later won third prize in international competition. At that time, documentary, narrative, short, and feature all used to compete for the same award at the KIMFF. Photo courtesy of Bikas Rauniyar © Bikas Rauniyar

THEMES
Arts, Caste, Ethnicity & Race, Colorism

AUDIO
Duration: 01:35:24

ADDITIONAL METADATA
Date: April 9, 2022
Subject(s): Asha Magrati, Deepak Rauniyar
Type: Oral History
Source: Archival Creators Fellowship Program
Creator: Luna Ranjit
Contributor: Asha Magrati, Deepak Rauniyar
Location: North Carolina

PROVENANCE
Collection: Luna Ranjit Fellowship Project
Donor: Asha Magrati, Deepak Rauniyar
Item History: 2022-07-01 (created); 2022-07-01 (modified)

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