A Nepali-language feature film exploring migration, memory and family ties has received development support from Australia’s national screen agency, Screen Australia.
Titled Home Before Night, the film is being produced by Sabin Gnawali and Ana Tiwary, with filmmaker Kalani Gacon attached as its writer and director. The project combines social drama with elements of science fiction and is expected to bring together Nepali and Australian talent.
The amount of funding allocated for the screenplay development has not been publicly disclosed. According to the filmmakers, the project successfully passed the initial assessment stage before receiving support to develop its script.
A Story Connecting Nepal and Australia
Home Before Night follows Chanda, a migrant living in Australia, whose life takes an unexpected turn after she encounters Orana, a character connected to a futuristic memory-sharing concept.
The story revolves around Chanda’s journey back to Nepal as she searches for her estranged father. As the characters’ lives become connected across time and distance, Chanda is forced to confront memories and unresolved aspects of her own past.
The film uses science fiction as a way to examine emotional themes surrounding migration, homesickness, identity and separation from family.
Additional information about the project describes Chanda as a Nepali aged-care worker in Australia, while Orana is an Australian woman of Nepali heritage searching for her own estranged father. Their stories intersect through a futuristic system that allows memories to be donated or transferred.
Filming Planned in Nepal and Australia
The production is planned across two countries, with filming locations including Nepal and the Blue Mountains region near Sydney. The project is expected to feature both Nepali and Australian performers.
The production team includes filmmakers with connections to both countries, an approach intended to give the story a culturally grounded perspective. Gacon has spent considerable time in Nepal and speaks Nepali, while producers Gnawali and Tiwary bring their own experiences of migration and multicultural filmmaking to the project.
A Milestone for Nepali-Language Cinema
The Screen Australia support represents an important development for Nepali-language filmmaking in Australia. The project has also attracted attention beyond Australia, having been selected for the Film Bazaar Co-Production Market in India, where filmmakers can connect with potential international producers and financing partners.
For the creative team, the project provides an opportunity to tell a story rooted in the experiences of Nepali migrants while connecting those experiences with a wider international audience.
The film’s development also highlights the potential of cross-border partnerships to create stories that bring together different cultures, production communities and filmmaking traditions.
Exploring Memory, Migration and Identity
At the heart of Home Before Night is the question of what happens when memories become something that can be shared.
The film imagines a future in which people could donate memories in a manner comparable to organ donation. While such technology could potentially help people dealing with trauma, homesickness or memory loss, the filmmakers also explore the complications that could emerge when one person’s memories become part of another person’s life.
Through this speculative premise, the film examines familiar human experiences—including displacement, family separation, cultural identity and the desire to reconnect with one’s roots.
With Screen Australia backing its screenplay development and international interest growing around the project, Home Before Night is positioning itself as a cross-cultural film that connects Nepali storytelling with Australia’s multicultural screen industry.
