Kathmandu, Sept. 23 -- As children, we often told ourselves, "I can't wait to grow up."

But as we left childhood behind, we realised that growing up meant much more than we had imagined. It meant discovering who we were, losing and finding things along the way, making sense of the world and learning to hold our ground in the face of its harsh realities.

Film scholar Alistair Fox, in his book 'Coming-of-Age Cinema in New Zealand: Genre, Gender and Adaptation', describes coming-of-age stories as revolving around a character's "journey of self-discovery", in which experiences lead them towards a more mature sense of self.

While coming-of-age cinema is often associated with adolescence, the idea of growing up can take many forms. It can me...