Helena
Short
English, Hindi, Nepali
mins
13
North American Premiere
In-Person, Virtual
2023
Nepal, United Arab Emirates
Drama
Helena works in the UAE as a waitress. Her son in Nepal has been asking for a laptop for the last four months and has now stopped going to school. Finally, when she’s saved enough money to buy one, she finds out that she’s lost a small amount of cash. When the son calls her, she lies to him saying that she’s bought the laptop and is sending it with her friend. Deep into the lies, in between the pressure from work and from her family, how will she get through this?
Official Selection - Focus South Asia, Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2023
Director
Ayarush Paudel
Ayarush Paudel was born and raised in Nepal. After high school, Paudel moved to the United Arab Emirates in order to pursue his passion for storytelling while studying undergraduate education at New York University Abu Dhabi. With his interest lying primarily in narrative stories, Paudel has written and directed a number of projects in the last five years revolving around different issues in Nepal such as the schooling system, gender inequality, the impact of the pandemic, and racism.
Director:
Ayarush Paudel
Producer:
Sophiya Paudel
Writer:
Ayarush Paudel
Cast:
Ayushma Shrestha George Jose Yoshina Gautam Sajil Jimmy Samman Sharma Ramesh Rijal
Editor:
Ayarush Paudel
Crew:
Pu Jia, Daniel Nivia, Kate Ezubova