Archives

Nepal is also one of the most natural disaster prone countries in the world.
Variable climatic conditions and active tectonic processes have made her vulnerable to various types of natural disasters. In addition, other man-made factors such as unplanned settlement, lack of public awareness, increasing population, weak economic condition and low literacy rate have also made her vulnerable to various types of natural disasters. This film documents the community Preparedness for Disaster Risk Reduction.

This documentary is filmed in the Khumbu valley located at the foot of Mt. Everest. The film introduces traditional Sherpa views of the Beyul as a sacred space, co-habited by many other natural and supernatural beings, where negative thoughts and actions such as quarreling, polluting, and taking life are discouraged because the place is considered spiritually powerful. It is these positive attitudes and self restraint on part of the people that made Khumbu not only a peaceful place for people to live and visit but also a safe refuge for wild animals and plants. The sympathetic attitudes of Beyul believers supported most Beyuls to become national parks and protected areas. The role of the ancient belief system in conservation however has received little recognition, and the modern approach do not take into account the value of the indigenous knowledge and the Beyul values. This film reveals both the strength of the Beyul concept in maintaining environmental and cultural integrity of a place as well as the vulnerability of concepts to change.

Festivals & Screenings

2008    Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival, Kathmandu, Nepal
2008    Various Workshops, Nepal
2009    Guimet, Paris, France
2009    Vancouver Nepali Film Festival, Canada
2010    Bansko International Film Festival for Mountains, Extreme Sports and Adventures
2011    Skabmagovat Film Festival, Finland

Memories of – Save the Children UK’s 3 Decades with Children in Nepal

Save the Children UK arrived in Nepal in 1975, when the country had only the most rudimentary health care system, very few roads and the communication facilities were very basic. Save the Children UK began working in the area of mother and child health with a focus on remote areas. The idea was to take services to local populations in different regions. Over the next three decades, innovation in the face of new challenges continued to guide Save the Children UK’s policy in Nepal.

By the time Save the Children UK was getting ready to leave Nepal in 2004, the success of its approach had become evident This film documents Save the Children UK’s work in Nepal and is a testimony of its work to improve the situation of children in Nepal.

A documentary film about the Tibetan Opera Group of Kathmandu creating a new opera based on the life of Thangtong Gyalpo (the 14th Century Tibetan Yogi who founded the tradition of Tibetan Opera) and then practicing and then finally performing in the Shoton Opera Festival in Dharamsala in front of His Holiness the Dalai Lama.

Festivals & Screenings

2006 – Tibetan Film Festival, Dharamsala, India
2007 – Emory University, Atlanta Georgia, USA

It used to be a common sight in Tibet to come across Lama Mani, also known as Bhuchen, who would preach the Dharma with the aid of scroll paintings. The stories were attractive to the illiterate mass as the Bhuchen would narrate the stories in a very colloquial language, and often intersperse earthy and irreverent jokes. Unlike the formal lamas, a Bhuchen would mix informally with the lay people thereby bridging the gap between him and the mass/listeners. Since coming into exile, this practice has decreased to the point that there are only two Bhuchens left in the entire community of 130,000 exiled Tibetans. With the initiative of Tibet Fund and support of The Shelley and Donald Rubin Foundation, one of the two surviving Bhuchens, Gyurmey, in his 70’s, was invited from India to teach the art to some young nuns in Thukje Choling Nunnery in Nepal.

Festivals & Screenings

2002    KathmanduInternationalMountain Film Festival, Nepal
2003    Himalayan Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

Dreaming of Tibet is a film about the resilience of the human spirit in the face of unimaginable hardship. This heart-rending documentary traces the lives of three Tibetan exiles as they build new lives as ‘strangers in strange lands’ while striving to maintain their own culture.

Produced and Directed by Will Parrinello

Audience Award Amnesty International Film Festival. Congressional Human Rights Caucus screening. Airing on PBS stations and LinkTV.

“…a moving documentary.”
—Oakland Tribune

“…beautifully photographed, lyrical film.”
—Marin IJ

“Engaging…lovingly presented…An important addition to collections.”
—School Library Journal

This is a short multimedia presentation about the problem of Child Labor in Nepal.
Produced by ILO Nepal.

A film on cross border trafficking of girls for prostitution – from Nepal to India. Exploring prostitution against the background of violence against human rights violations – looking at the situation of the girls and the families and the attitude of male clients.  produced by Southview Productions  for MARG (Multiple Action Research Group) funded by CIDA.  CIDA’s South Asia Regional Gender Fund.

Directed by Meera Dewan with Niraja Rao

Shadow Circus: The CIA in Tibet
India/Nepal/USA; 1998, 50 mins
Produced and directed by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam
for BBC Television

The Tibetan people are well known for being devoutly religious and peace loving. What is less known is that thousands of Tibetans took up arms against the invading forces of Communist China and waged a bitter and bloody guerrilla war. From the mid-1950s until 1969 they were aided in their efforts by an unlikely ally, the CIA. This project, code-named ST CIRCUS, was one of the CIA’s longest running covert operations. The withdrawal of the CIA’s support in 1969 was as abrupt as its initial involvement was unexpected: the Tibetans had simply fitted into America’s larger policy of destabilising or overthrowing Communist regimes, and when that no longer applied, they were abandoned. With unique archive footage and exclusive interviews with former resistance fighters and surviving CIA operatives, The Shadow Circus: The CIA in Tibet reveals for the first time this hitherto unknown chapter in Tibet’s recent history – a tale that is both heroic and tragic, full of sad ironies and unexpected twists that overturn all preconceptions about both Tibet and the CIA.

“… a remarkable film … which reveals the work of the CIA in Tibet and shows how desperately the Tibetans fought to get rid of the Chinese.”
Patrick French, Telegraph Magazine, November 14, 1998

“A fascinating film…nothing is ever quite as it seems.”
The Daily Express, November 14, 1998

“It is an extraordinary tale, and one that makes uncomfortable viewing…”
The Independent on Sunday, November 15, 1998

Broadcasts:

• BBC (UK), DRS (Switzerland), WDR (Germany)
• SAB (South Africa), Iberian Program Services (Spain)
• Stream SPA (Italy), Poland and Australia
• Scheduled for broadcast on PBS (USA), April 2002

Film Festivals: 

• Asian American Film Festival, San Francisco, 2000
• Mountainfilm, Telluride (USA), 1999
• Best Historical Film: MillValley Film Festival, California, 1999
• Amnesty International Film Festival, Vancouver, 1999
• Mumbai International Film Festival, 1999

The practice of shamans invoking spirits/protectors to ward off evil and cure disease has been a significant feature of Tibetan social life for over a millennium. Considered an inborn faculty that needs only awakening, and channeling, the shaman’s art survives through his son or daughter.

Pao Wangchuk, 78, is the thirteenth in an unbroken line of spiritual mediums, living and practicing his craft this side of the Himalaya in the Tibetan camp in Pokhara, Nepal. The source of the old man’s despair is Karma, his eldest son and heir-to-be, who may not be able to continue the family calling. Karma, like many youth of today, is given to drinking and easy life, and can’t live up to the demands of being a spiritual healer. Also that this extraordinary vocation, by today’s gauge, seems an altogether alien track for Karma. In the conflict between the father and son, Pao constantly complains that Karma is wasting away his life, and is worried that family lineage will die. But Karma doesn’t care. He resents, and is frustrated by, his father’s constant complaining and mistrust. His frustration even led him to a suicide attempt once.

Film festivals and awards

• 1997           Best Film Award, Film South Asia (Festival of South Asian Documentary     Films), Kathmandu, Nepal
• 1998                Best Indigenous Filmmaker of the Year  Parnu Anthropological Film    Festival, Estonia
• 1997                Leipzig Dokfestival, Germany
• 1997                9^th Internationales Berg + Abenteuer Film Festival Graz, Austria
• 1998                Cinema du Reel, Paris, France
• 1998                Bilan Ethnographique, Paris, France
• 1998                Hong Kong International Film Festival, Hong Kong
• 1998                Telluride Mountain Film Festival (USA)
• 1998                Beeld Voor Beeld, Amsterdam Anthropological Film Festival,                          Amsterdam, The Netherlands
• 1998                Fukuoka International Film Festival (Focus On Asia), Japan
• 1999                Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, Japan
• 2003                Himalayan Film Festival, Amsterdam, The Netherlands

 Screenings

• 1998                Kino Xenix Theatre, Zurich, Switzerland
• 1998                National Film Theatre, London, England
• 2000                India International Center, New Delhi
• 2000                INPUT Conference Asia, Kathmandu, Nepal
• 2001                INPUT Conference International, Cape Town, South Africa

 Broadcasts

• 1998                Estonian TV, Estonia
• 2002                CUNY TV, New York, USA

 Press comments on The Spirit Doesn’t Come Anymore:

 “It is rare to find a film in which a filmmaker makes so many right choices throughout the film – where the camera attains a proximity even while it never loses sight of a crucial distance without being intrusive”

“An extraordinary portrait of a traditional Tibetan faith healer …and a sensitive exploration of relationships within his family”

 “The chief appeal of the film is its intimate portrayal of the characters, and far from being turned off by Pao Wangchuk’s curmudgeonly, sometimes wicked, ways, he becomes a memorable character. Rhitar’s film also works because it has a storyline, unlike most documentaries. The earthy, unjudging Tibetan humor is in strong form in this film”

 “A multi-faceted portrait of an unusual family emerges, augmented by the views of villagers, patients, neighbors and friends”