Dying Candle is a 2016 Nepali family drama film written and directed by Naresh Kumar K.C., produced by Rabin Acharya, Uttam K.C. and Bimal Subedi, and released in theaters on 16 December 2016 with a runtime of 89 minutes. The film stars Srijana Subba, Lakpa Singi Tamang, Bidhya Karki, Saugat Malla and Arpan Thapa in the leading roles. The film was shot in a remote Himalayan village of Nepal, where the crew lived for 45 days, with almost all the food having to be imported from the capital, and it won the Best Cinematography in a Feature award at the 6th Queens World Film Festival in New York for its cinematographers Rabin Acharya and Dipankar Sikder.

The story of the film is the story of a young woman named Kshemi, played by Srijana Subba, who lives in a rural Himalayan village with her sick mother Khyo, played by Bidhya Karki, and her mischievous little brother Tipke, played by Lakpa Singi Tamang. After the death of her father, Kshemi, at the age of twenty-four, becomes the primary caretaker of the family, taking on the role that traditionally belonged to the son, since her brother is ill. She runs a small local liquor shop to make a living and fights all odds to raise her young brother and keep the family together.

In a moment of desperation, and to cover the medical expenses of her ailing brother and mother, Kshemi reluctantly agrees to marry a wealthy but unscrupulous man, Janak Lal, played by Saugat Malla, giving up her hopes of marrying her love, Mukunda, played by Arpan Thapa. The film then follows the unfolding of this sacrifice, the emotional and moral costs of her decision, and the bond between the sister and the brother, which is the heart of the film. The story is told in a one-day frame, with carefully observed details of the rural life of the high Himalayas: the traditional utensils, the brewing of alcohol, the grinding of corn, the cooking of dhido, and the rituals of the culture, all captured with the attentive cinematography that the festival recognized.

The film depicts the themes of sacrifice, familial duty and resilience within a close-knit family facing extreme hardship, and it offers an insight into the traditional values of Nepal and the challenges of rural life. The performances of the cast, particularly the brother-sister bond of Srijana Subba and Lakpa Singi Tamang, were appreciated by the critics, and the film remains an important, award-winning drama of the independent Nepali cinema.