Wolfson student film awarded in film festivals worldwide
Sanyukta Shrestha, Wolfson student completing his Master of Studies in Asian Studies and member of the Wolfson Film Society, recently screened his animated film “Jaye Lakhay” at Wolfson College’s Leonard Wolfson Auditorium. The film has also been honoured by film festivals across the globe, through screenings and award nominations. Awards have included the Athens International Monthly Art Film Festival, Greece (Winner, April 2026), the Stockholm City International Film Festival, Sweden (Winner, April 2026), the Singapore Film and Script Festival, Singapore (Finalist, Spring 2026) and Page Three Nepalbhasa People’s Choice Award (Special Honour, June 2026).
About the film
A mythical character from the Kathmandu valley of Nepal, Lakhay was originally a demon who fell in love with a local farmer’s daughter. Her love turned him into a God and is worshipped annually to date by the Newar people in the Valley and beyond. Later, His blessings saved the entourage of Nepalese Prime Minister Jung Bahadur from a sea storm during his voyage from Nepal to Britain.
This is Shrestha’s second animated movie, and took him eight full years to complete and consists of 34,000 drawings. “I did it for my country, Nepal” he comments, “and was highly inspired by its rich cultural heritage.”
About Sanyukta Shrestha
Sanyukta Shrestha is a Nepalese filmmaker and art historian. He was awarded the Best Artist (Animation) by the Nepal Academy of Fine Arts in 2016. He directed and animated Nepal’s first animated movie titled ‘The Legend of Shankhadhar’, in 2016. He has also been awarded a BAFTA (British Academy of Film & Television Arts) for the Children’s Virtual World “Bin Weevil” in 2011. His first short film, ‘Leaving The Village’ (2007), was officially selected for screening in various film festivals in Europe and Nepal. He was awarded the Best South-Asian cartoonist by the Association of Indian Universities, in Maharashtra, India, in 2000. He was awarded the Best Artist by the Nepal Art Council in 1999, and by the UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) Best Artist Award in 1997.
