SHAKTI premiered at the 45th Hawai’i International Film Festival presented by Halekulani.
In this video, HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) mentee D’Elle Martin sits down and reviews SHAKTI, a Nepalese feature film from director Nani Sahra Walker. This film was also part of New American Perspectives, a program sponsored by the Vilcek Foundation.
SHAKTI takes place in Kathmandu, where a mischievous nine-year-old’s sudden mysterious illness drives her single mother to seek help from a shaman, uncovering buried trauma that binds them both. The story of SHAKTI is inspired by Nepal’s outdated laws that fail to protect Dalit women and girls from rampant sexual violence. Through the lens of a mother-daughter bond, it explores shattered innocence, resilience, and the pursuit of justice in a society divided between tradition and modernity, offering a powerful testament to healing and hope.
Check out D’Elle channel here: youtube.com/@dj3martin
The HIFF ONLINE CREATIVES & CRITICS IMMERSIVE (HOCCI) program supports sustainable film criticism in Hawai’i through mentorship and paid career opportunities for Hawai’i-based AANHPI critics. The mission of HOCCI is to broaden diversity in film criticism across the Pacific and use influencer branding strategies to spark career opportunities. The 2025 HOCCI is supported by Critical Minded, a grant-making and learning initiative that supports cultural critics of color in the United States.
Born and raised on O’ahu, D’Elle Martin is a Master’s student in Landscape Architecture and Architecture. A recent graduate from UH Mānoa with a Bachelor’s of Environmental Design, she has studied in Nagaoka, Japan, launched rockets in Black Rock Desert, Nevada, and sailed around Aotearoa, New Zealand on a tall ship research vessel. D’Elle is an investigator, artist, creator, and musician. She loves the subtleties of film and enjoys the impact of silence.
