Kathmandu, April 14 -- Growing up in Kathmandu, Rajeela Shrestha never imagined she'd become a filmmaker. For much of her adolescence, she was convinced her path would be quite different, and she'd pursue Chartered Accountancy for stability.

Her plan changed when a subtle insecurity, triggered by a classmate who consistently outperformed her, made her pause and rethink her path.

What happened next wasn't a dramatic shift but a simple conversation with her father. He urged her to consider alternative careers, like journalism and filmmaking, as she had a passion for writing, which drew her interest in filmmaking.

Her CA instructor connected her to his sister-in-law, another Rajeela Shrestha, who had just finished film school. "We laughed...