MUMBAI: After weeks of running a mini festival of films of Goutam Ghose, fans of filmmaker Shyam Benegal will rejoice watching his 2008 film Welcome to Sajjanpur. Benegal will be present in Kathmandu for the screening of the film coming Friday.

It is being widely felt that the 77-year-old filmmaker‘s visit to Nepal will cement other ties between the two neighbouring countries. As India marks the 50th anniversary of its Film and Television Institute of India in Pune this year, the celebrations are also being shared in Nepal, which has nearly 40 alumni. Two directors in Nepal‘s film industry - Laxmi Prasad Sharma and Shambhu Pradhan - are both from the FTII.

The visit of Benegal will coincide with a three-day cinema workshop organised by the chapter of the FTII alumni organisation Graduates of Film and Television Institute of India (GRAFTII) in Nepal. The workshop, ‘Cinema for the New Generation‘, is being supported by the Indian embassy in Kathmandu and the B.P. Koirala India-Nepal Foundation.

Besides Benegal, the workshop will also have cinematographer Rajen Kothari discuss cinematography techniques, followed by the screening of 17 short films made by Nepali graduates of GRAFTII.