Bruce Dern will star alongside Nepali cinema stalwarts Dayahang Rai and Hari Bansha Acharya in Binod Paudel’s “The World’s Happiest Man.”

The story delves into the plight of Bhutanese-Nepali refugees who settled within the Ohio-Pennsylvania space and fought alienation and displacement.

Paudel’s “Bulbul” was chosen as Nepal’s entry within the Oscars’ worldwide class in 2019. He gained greatest director at Nepal‘s Nationwide Movie Awards, the place he had beforehand gained the screenplay award for “Saanghuro” (2013).

Rai headlined “A Street to a Village,” which bowed at Toronto in 2023 and went on to play at Busan and Mumbai. He additionally stars in “The Sky is Mine.” Acharya starred in “Mahapurush,” which was Nepal’s highest grossing movie of 2022.

“The World’s Happiest Man” participated within the 2019 Busan Asian Challenge Market beneath the title “Akron Worldwide.” The U.S.-Nepal undertaking is produced by Rajendra Thakurathi, Amitabh Joshi and Abeeral Thapa, with L.N. Adhikari, Kaushila Karmacharya, Ramesh Bhatta and Apaar Shrestha serving as govt producers and Deepak Gajmer as line producer. The manufacturing firms are Mad Monkey Movies, Thakurathi Bros., Vacant Gentle and Everest Leisure.

Dern has been Oscar-nominated twice, for “Coming House” (1979) and “Nebraska” (2013), for which he gained greatest actor at Cannes.

“For me, it’s all about household and the way they arrive collectively or crumble. On this story, a household is separated by geography and tradition. It’s a movie that displays my cut up soul between nations. Nepal has a burgeoning movie business, and this is a chance for us to bridge Nepal and america. It’s an honor for us to be working with a luminary like Bruce. It is a movie about eager for a homeland that not exists,” Paudel instructed Selection.

Nepalese movies have been making a mark internationally in recent times. In 2023, moreover “A Street to a Village,” “The Crimson Suitcase” debuted at Venice and went on to play Zurich and Mumbai and Nepal-India manufacturing “Guras” bowed at Karlovy Differ. Earlier, in 2016, “White Solar” had appreciable competition play and gained an award at Venice.

“The World’s Happiest Man” is capturing on location in Akron, Ohio and surrounding cities.