[Stephanie VO] Nepal is one of those places that often holds a space in the adventure traveler's imagination.

It is the birthplace of Siddhartha Gautama, the Prince who gave up his riches to become the enlightened Buddha.

In the 1960s and 70s, Nepal became the ultimate destination on the “hippie trail,” where budget travelers would traverse over land from Istanbul to Kathmandu.

Picture this: long-hair, free-thinkers driving Volkswagens with months-long stopovers in Tehran, Afghanistan, or Delhi to end up in Nepal's mystical capital city.

Things were different then.

Yet today, Nepal still holds a place in the intrepid backpackers█ heart and soul.

If asked about Nepal, you might conjure up ideas of Buddhism, yoga retreats, meditative moments and the mighty Mount Everest at the top of many a globetrotters█ bucket list.

Yes, Nepal is all of these things... but it is so much more.

There is a rich diversity in terms of peoples, places, climates, geography, religions and languages that make up one of the most unique blends of cultural synergy left on the planet.

[traditional singing and clapping] [“Steadee█s Back In The Groove” theme song plays] Hi!

I'm Stephanie.

The Cinema Nomad.

Join me on brand new adventures.

The world is a wonderful place where people overcome incredible odds to make their mark.

We'll meet filmmakers who are as courageous as they are inspiring.

Cinema Nomad connects across cultures to learn, exlore, share and carry on a heritage of cinematic storytelling.

[piano solo performed by Andi Merrill] [bells chime] Good?

Namaste.

[in Nepali] [Anup] When you're up in the mountains, it makes you, it makes you very grounded.

You know, it tells you that you're just a small piece, a very small dot.

[Stephanie VO] Nepal, a landlocked Himalayan nation in Southeast Asia, is wedged between Tibet to the north and India to the south.

One thing that interests me greatly about Nepal, a nation of nearly 30 million people, is that there are lots of different ethnic groups and cultures spread across the country, from the Newars to the Kiratis, Tharu, Tamang, Sherpas and so many more.

Not one makes up a majority.

As such, many different languages are spoken throughout the country.

And though Nepali is the official language, less than 50% of the population speaks it.

In terms of religion, around 10% of the population are Buddhist, while about 80% practice Hinduism.

However, these two religious practices have become so intertwined here and many Nepalis consider themselves both.

Nepal's land-mass is equivalent in size to the country of Greece, or the state of North Carolina.

The economy relies heavily on remittances from Nepalis working abroad, as well as tourism and agriculture.

Despite its small size, Nepal has a diversity of geological zones.

The mountains in the north, tiger-filled tropical jungles, and the hot and humid Terrai flatlands of the south.

Eight of the world's ten highest mountain peaks are in Nepal, and the country has the biggest altitude change of anywhere on the planet.

Add to this historic cities full of ancient cultural sites, from the royal wonders of Bhaktapur, Patan, and the Kathmandu Valley.

There's so much to explore in this Republic, which remained a Kingdom up until 2008.

[Stephanie Anup chat quietly in the background] [Stephanie VO] Anup Vaswani.

Filmmaker.

Photographer.

Trekker.

Traveler.

Nepal was an extra special stop on the Cinema Nomad itinerary, because Anup was the very first filmmaker to reach out to me with interest in participating in Cinema Nomad.

It took me four years to reach Anup in Nepal due to logistical challenges and a global pandemic.

But I finally reached him and I couldn't be happier.

Fluent in Hindi, English and Nepali, Anup was born and raised in Kathmandu and grew up in Thamel, the tourist district, which exposed him to visitors from all around the world and perhaps instilled in him a curiosity which led to his love of travel.

As a photographer-filmmaker, Anup is self-taught.

He studied Business at University, with the expectation to work with his father and eventually take over the family business of synthetic leather.

But after a few years in Business, Anup decided that the 9 to 5 life was not for him.

He started lusting for travel.

He loves to travel, especially within his own country, and saw photography as an opportunity, or an excuse, to travel.

After I got my camera, I did my first trek.

I was stupid, because I didn't know anything about trekking, and I didn't know anything about being up in the mountains, but I just knew that I had a camera and I wanted to take landscapes.

On the third or the fourth day, I almost said, “I can't do it.” And my friends pushed me.

I got smart and I dropped around 17 kgs of my weight at one place And then it was like, you know, it was an easy journey for me.

If I had that kind of an experience, my life would have been very different.

[Stephanie] Anup found that he really enjoyed photography and he became good at it.

He started trekking and photographing and in turn, fell in love with trekking too.

Once I learned that you could travel, and you could take pictures and make videos and then you get money for it, then... what else do I want?

[chuckles] I mean, it's perfect.

I started accepting all sorts of jobs, which said, look, I'll take you to this place, but you have to take videos for me.

I was like, okay, sure, why not?

You know, there have been so many times when I've just been traveling, with people, without money, filming everything and coming back home, with money.

All of this came in together, and that's how I became a travel filmmaker, which was like the best thing.

The cinema of Nepal, sometimes referred to as Kollywood for its base of operations in Kathmandu, is highly influenced by the style and themes of Bollywood films.

[background music from a Nepali-Bollywood film shoot] [Stephanie VO] The first movie known to be made in the Nepali language was “Satya Harishchandra,” which was an Indian production led by D.B.

Pariyar.

The first film to be created soley in Nepal is considered to be “Aama,” or “Mother.” This film premiered in 1964, in Kathmandu with a subtle intention to help promote the Monarchy, emphasizing the importance of looking after the motherland.

In 1971, the government established the Royal Nepal Film Corporation, which produced such films as “Mann Ko Bandh,” and “Kumari,” Nepal's first color film.

During the Maoist era, fewer films were being made, and with lower budgets.

Arising in the 1980s, one of the filmmaker-founders of Kollywood is considered Tulsi Ghimire.

Originally from Kalimpong, India Tulsi moved to Mumbai to work in the Hindi film industry, and then moved to Nepal to make films in the Nepalese language.

His films became very popular and include, “Chino,” “Darpan Chhaya” or “Reflections,” which at the time was the highest grossing film in Nepal, and his film, “Kusume Rumal,” is now considered a classic.

Some of Tulsi█s films focus on political issues such as “Nation,” and “Sacrifice,” which depicts Nepal's Communist movement, and was banned in 2005 by King Gyanendra.

Another prominent filmmaker is Neer Bikram Shah, known as Nir Shah; an Actor, Director, Businessman, Lyricist and Poet who is related to Nepal's royal family.

He also founded Nepal's first TV channel.

In 1984, Nir Shah█s film, “Basudev,” helped raise awareness to social issues such as poverty and corruption.

One of the first Nepali independent films to gain international attention was Tsering Rhitar Sherpa█s turn-of-the-century debut feature film, “Mask of Desire.” He went on to direct “Karma” in 2006, and “Uma” in 2013.

After the end of the Civil War, the industry started to develop again and films emerged such as “Apabad;” “Highway,” which played at Berlinale; and “Loot,” a crime-thriller credited as bringing audiences back to the cinema.

Kathmandu.

The bustling city of Nepal, with a population of around 800,000, is also Nepal's largest city.

With an average elevation of 4,600 feet, the city is defined by the Himalayan Mountains that surround it.

You'll stumble upon trekking and climbing shop upon shop to buy poles, tents, crampons and anything else you might need for your mountain excursions.

And countless eateries will allow you to fuel up on local dishes of dal bhat or momos.

According to Buddhist legend, the Kathmandu Valley, which surrounds the city, was created by the deity Manjushri from the bed of a sacred lake.

It was here that the medieval kingdom of Kantipur prospered in the hills near the confluence of the Bagmati and Vishnumati Rivers.

Etymologically, Kathmandu derives from the words “kath” meaning “wood” and “mandir” meaning “temple.” As the ancient capital was said to have been built by the wood of a single tree.

The city was founded by Raja Gunakamadeva, who ruled from around 949 to 994 CE.

The city was a resting stop along the 12th century Tibet to India trade route, and rose to prominence in the 13th century after the Malla Kings took control of the valley.

The Malla brought about a renaissance of art and architecture, leading to a Golden Age that lasted around 500 years.

From the end of Malla rule in 1769 until the early 2000s, the city served as the seat of the ruling Shah family of the Gurkha Dynasty, and became a commercial hub thanks to the merchant Newer peoples.

In 2015, a major earthquake devastated the city.

Many people lost their homes.

I was lucky enough to be in Nepal during their annual Tihar Holidays.

The Festival of Lights.

In other countries Tihar is more commonly known as Diwali.

Starting two days prior to the New Moon at the end of October or early November, Each day of Tihar has its own significance.

The third and most important day is known as Lakshmi Puja named for Lakshmi, the Goddess of Wealth.

People light up their homes with oil lamps, candles or electric lights in order to welcome in Lakshmi█s prosperity.

Wait, I█ll be back.

I accompanied Anup to his production company█s office, Inkwell Ventures, where he decorated with marigold garlands and candles and performed a small puja, or religious ceremony, to cleanse his office.

This ritual cleaning is done to help make the space as appealing as possible for the gods to enter and spread their wealth.

I met Anup█s colleagues, filmmakers who were ceremonially playing cards, another Tihar tradition.

Inkwell Ventures initially started as a production company to create social media ads, and they turned their focus to producing documentaries for various non-profits.

That evening, I was invited to Anup█s home, where he lives with his hospitable parents and his lovely wife.

It is common in Nepal for brides to move in with their husband█s family.

Anup is proud of the fact that his marriage was a love match.

And to see the happy couple, you would think that they were newlyweds living out their blissful honeymoon stage.

In fact, they had already been married for over ten years.

Anup has a sister who lives in North Carolina, and a brother who lives in Australia, who was visiting with his wife for the holidays.

It was such an honor to be included in this family affair, and to experience the magic of Tihar at Anup█s home.

After lighting the candles around the house, Anup█s mother performed a puja at the family altar and led us in a singing prayer.

[ringing bell, singing, and clapping in prayer] Sweets were passed around and small cards were handed out with a message from Lakshmi to put in your safe so that it fills up.

Afterwards, we shared a delicious and humongous home cooked meal.

When we finished eating, we chatted with Dad and Anup spoke about his family heritage.

Did you like Nepal?

Were you happy here?

Did you have to grow to become happy here?

Are you?

I█m happy here.

42 years, lots of changes.

When I was in school, I heard stories that Thamel has the best nightlife in all of South Asia and Thamel never sleeps.

It was like a tourist paradise, you know.

People used to party, and there is no crime, you know.

You could walk out safely, at all the time.

So it was like that, and when when I came of the age when I start to party, the Royal Massacre happened, you know, and after that, I saw a very different side of Thamel, where everything used to be closed before 10pm.

People with long hair were being caught by the cops.

oh..see... So anybody and everybody could have been caught by the cops.

Everything is hope, and belief.

And if you believe in something, then... you trying to do that gets very stronger.

So that what it is.

I believe, I believe that Lord Shiva exist.

And I believe that, he is the super power of us.

Beyond, beyond everybody█s controlling.

He█s taking care of us.

That could be anything.

It█s just my will and my hope that takes me, you know.

And when I‘m down, I need motivation.

So the way of my motivation is through him.

From early morning bells waking you up before the cock-a-doodle-doos, to people performing morning pujas, visiting small shrines daily, giving blessings on the streets, ceremoniously wearing tika on their foreheads.

Religion and spirituality permeates Nepal's daily life.

I explored as much of this world as possible from temple hopping through ancient Bhaktapur, the UNESCO listed city of devotees, where Newari life has thrived for centuries, To visiting Buddhist Swayambhunath Stupa, but more popularly known as the Monkey Temple, dating to the fifth century.

It is entwined in Kathmandu Valley's creation myth, and it's believed that these hills were used for animist rites long before the Buddhists arrived.

Today, it's more of a hangout spot.

Selfies galore with one of the best views over Kathmandu.

One of the world's largest stupas can be found at Boudhananath, five kilometers north of central Kathmandu.

Considered one of the most important Tibetan Buddhist monuments outside of Tibet, Tibetans simply call it Chorten Chenpo or Great Stupa.

Famed throughout the region for powers of wish fulfillment and blessings, Boudhananath has been a sacred site on the Kathmandu- Tibet trade route for centuries.

And since 1959 it's been of great importance to the Tibetan exiles in Nepal.

One night Anup took me to the nightly puja at Pashupatinath on the outskirts of Kathmandu, one of the Nepal█s holiest Hindu pilgrimage sites and an important Shiva temple for the entire Hindu world.

While the gold clad pagoda dates to the 17th century, the spirituality of this site is believed to date back to the third century BCE as an animist ritual site, Pashupatinath on the Bagmati River is also a giant crematorium.

This is a sacred place to burn to ashes the bodies of the deceased along the river banks to aid in the cycle of rebirth.

Many Hindus also bring newborn babies here.

Life begins and ends at the river.

When you see Nepal, you see a country which is which is the streets are filled with gods, you know, everywhere you walk, you have temples around you.

So it's like you're walking in a God country.

People want to get a certain kind of attachment with certain things that gives them a some kind of motivation.

You know.

There is some kind of spiritual power, some kind of super power that's above us, which is taking care of us, maybe, which takes control over things.

And we have part control over it too.

Right?

People do good karma because they hope that if I have a good karma, it'll come back to me.

Otherwise, if you don't have hope, you have nothing in life.

And how can your filmmaking fuel this hope for yourself and maybe for others as well?

things that I can't do in life, things that are beyond my control in life, Movies used to give hope, right?

And sometimes there are there are characters in a movie who tend to click with you in certain kind.

They do what you could never think or you never thought you would do.

And then if you're in the middle of a situation which is similar to that at one point of time, you might think that I could also do that.

Life is a constant struggle, right?

You always keep searching for jobs, keep searching for money especially as a freelancer.

You know you keep searching for jobs, you keep searching for money and you don't have much sense of security.

And if I lose hope that I'll get a new job, I will be devastated.

So it's very important to keep that hope up.

Nepal is unique to world history, perhaps due to his dramatic topography or perhaps due to the strength of its warrior Gurkha population.

Nepal was able to remain independent from the dynasties and empires that surrounded it, India and Tibet.

And they held off the British Empire at the height of her power.

Nepal's ancient ancestors are likely migrants from the Indus Valley Civilization.

Many language and ethnic groups also migrated to Nepal, and one of the earliest documented were the Kiratis, who dominated the valley from the eighth to ninth centuries, mentioned in the Indian epics the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.

In Anup█s body of work, he's made documentaries for the tourism board and tour companies such as Himalayan Quest, which lead treks to Annapurna, Manaslu, Everest and beyond.

Anup was the location manager in Nepal for “The Eight Mountains.” A 2022 Cannes Jury Prize winner, adapted from a novel by Italian author Paola Cognetti.

A a new has done commercials for Ford, Hard Rock Cafe and a variety of local bars and coffee joints around Nepal.

He produced documenting the story of the Lumbini Museum, a series of five docs for the United Nations Population Fund.

Videos about family planning, saying no to child marriages, getting rid of the stigma of having to have a son, and so forth.

Anup worked as a Director of Photography with Creative Nepal Films, who have made documentaries about adult education.

He was a tour organizer and assistant camera operator for a Greek reality TV travel show, “World Party,” and was a local organizer for Sky News Arabia during the 2015 earthquake, Anup made a documentary about the earthquake “Rising From The Debris.” [Film clip] Nepal was known to the world as a Paradise.

But on April 25th, 2015, it turned into a land of rubble.

He also organized filmmaking workshops, worked as a scriptwriter and a director of Canon Heads Production Company, which he created with two friends in 2017.

What are some of the types of stories or themes that you're most interested in telling in cinema?

Most of the filmmakers that I come across, they want to tell a story to to tell a message and to educate the masses.

For me, cinema is very different.

I mean, I have always enjoyed it and it's always it always helps me to, to get through troubled times.

It always helps me to lighten my mood, and it always helps me to get motivated.

if that's what I get from cinema, that's what I'm supposed to give back, is what I think.

We know everything, right?

As, human beings, we are aware of all the knowledge that's there and all the lessons that we should know, but it's just that we don't want to do that.

I want to make them happy, rather than, you know, and if I'm making them happy and telling them to do something nice in a very soft and a subtle manner, maybe a little bit of satire, which is, which is like a pinch, but not a punch.

That is, that is still good enough.

I was born here, raised here, but my family, my roots come from India.

And, most of the times the content that I create is in English, mostly, because when I make documentaries, it's mostly for Western countries to watch.

So mostly it's in English and I think in my native language, which is Hindi.

And, I want to do I want to make content in Nepali, so that it's more for the masses.

But then, it not being my first language, it kind of gets in the way sometimes.

But when we discussed about it and I started thinking I should, I should just go with whatever language it could be and then if it has the right feeling, if it has the right emotion, it'll come across through.

1814 brought a war with the British, ending with a treaty that established present day Nepal's borders.

The British Army, so impressed by the fighting of the Gurkhas, created in 1857 a Gurkha regiment that still exists today.

The Gurkhas have fought in World War I, World War II, the Falklands and Iraq.

From the end of the war in 1816, for the next century or so, Nepal entered a period of isolation.

No foreigners besides the British were allowed inside the country.

From 1846 to 1951, the Shahs became puppet kings due to the machinations of Jung Bahadur Rana, the nephew of a Shah King who massacred many important people near Durbar Square and then declared himself Prime Minister.

The Ranas kept up a cordial enough relationship with Britain, while the country remained isolated throughout the Shah and Rana eras, a Hindu elite was established and the caste system was codified in the Mularkey Ain Civil Code of 1854.

This code prescribed caste status for all groups according to how closely they adhered to Hindu norms, and the code put pressure on non-Hindus to conform to Hindu standards.

Inklings of democracy emerged in 1962 when the Panchayat system allowed people to choose their own representatives, though the King still retained absolute authority over the Prime Minister and Parliament.

The media was censored and many political leaders spent time in jail.

However, the government built schools, increased literacy, built roads, and the Nepali language was promoted as the language of education, which put ethnic minorities at a disadvantage.

Anup took me on a road trip south to the Terai region of Nepal, the lower, hotter area of the country that borders India.

We stayed in the village of Kolhabi on the edge of the Chitwan Jungle.

Kolhabi is a place for Hindu pilgrims to travel to and we visited on this special occasion of the Chhath festival dedicated to Surya the Sun God.

Over the next few days, I experienced village life through the guidance of Samip, a photographer who runs his family's homestay and whose proud to show off his local culture.

Samip grew up in Kolhabi but he left when he was ten years old.

He was sent to school in Kathmandu because of the Maoist insurgency which hit this region especially hard.

Kolhabi is a small village with a couple hundred people who live in houses made of mud, decorated with white handprints.

We visited a family preparing offerings for the Chhath Festival.

The sun gives strength and the festival is a way to offer thanks for the sun giving strength for the coming year.

It centers around the river.

Women fast and bathe or stand in the river with their offerings.

After staying up all night, the festival ends after sunrise when a puja by the riverside is performed.

A lovely family I met along the riverbanks welcomed me with open arms into their celebrations.

I will always remember their friendliness.

Anup also took me to visit the ruins of an old temple in a city called Simraungadh which was a fortified city and the main capital, the Tirhut kingdom.

founded in 1097.

The present day temple here was built in 1878, believed to have been built on the ancient palace of the Karnata dynasty.

After visiting the temple, our guide invited us to his house to serve a home cooked meal, a traditional dal bhat.

I enjoyed being there and appreciated the family's hospitality.

Equally to the mountains and your photography and filmmaking, tell me about your relationship with the jungle.

and being in the jungle.

The funny thing is that I was in this place called Bardia National Park, which is known for its tiger sightings.

And I was desperate for my first tiger sighting, being there for such a long time.

And all of that time, I never got a even the glimpse of a tiger.

And I was sad.

And there was this photography mentor who was also there.

He told me then, when your time will come, you will get to see your tiger.

It's not that.

It's not just about that.

It's also about life.

After that, I stopped expecting too much.

And most of the times, I've seen tigers in the jungle.

I've never shot one.

Like, you know, I only have one picture of a tiger that I took from very far away, because I never had the longest lens.

They were like mile away or two miles away.

My journey with jungle is very contradictory.

Even though I feel at home, I feel that the ones who actually live there, they don't like me or anybody coming in.

You know, that's the best thing man can do for conservation is just let them be.

Because nature plays its course on its own.

It does it█s thing.

Everything is going by the book.

It's just that we are not doing what we are supposed to do.

In 1979, riots led to King Birendra offering the people a choice between a reformed panchayat or a multi-party system.

The panchayat won by a slim margin, but by 1989, mass demonstrations led to the end of the panchayat and a multi-party system was introduced.

A new constitution was created and in May 1991 free elections were held.

The next decade brought political instability, yet it also brought political awareness.

Meanwhile, the Hindu state remained.

Many of the Nepali films I watched deal with the conflict between tradition versus progress often with a cross generational pull.

Such films include “Dying Candle,” a favorite of Anup█s.

I notice also that many of the films I watch centered around the theme of friendship, including “Kagbeni,” “White Sun,” and “The Black Hen.” I love the film “White Sun,” which adeptly taps into various social political issues of Nepal in the post-Civil War time frame.

The movie ends on the day after Nepal signed its new constitution as a federal republic, and deals with the aftermath of the civil war, upholding tradition versus progress, the caste system versus equality, yet the film never preaches.

It's entertaining and heartfelt with nice cinematography.

Another friendship film I enjoyed is “The Black Hen.” Set during the Maoist Insurgency, “The Black Hen” is a story of two boys from different castes who become friends.

The boy from the lower caste is trying to get his hen back after his father has sold the beloved bird.

The boys worked together throughout the movie to try to get the hen back, but their friendship is tested when politics come into play.

I had the pleasure to chat with Akanchha Karki.

An actor, director, teacher and counselor who co-founded the Katha Ghera Theater Group in Kathmandu along with her husband, actor Sudam Ck.

Akanchha has directed plays, including the Nepali rendition of “The Vagina Monologues,” “Private is Political,” “Line,” “The Giving Tree,” and “Herek Babaal Kura,” an adaptation of “Animal Farm.” When I met her, she had recently completed filming her first short film, “Sanai,” about the friendship of two teenage girls who are forced apart due to being from different castes.

It's a difficult subject to address in Nepal and Akanchha bravely tackles it head on.

I feel that the behind the scenes would have been a better film.

Oh, yeah.

You know, because both the girls are from the Dalit community, and the houses that we need to shoot in are like Brahmin houses, and nobody wants to give their house to shoot because they're not allowed to enter.

And finally, like the house that we really, really liked and we wanted to shoot like she threw a big fuss, like, like a crazy scene when she found out that there were Dalit members in the cast and I'm like, 80% of the cast and crew is like Dalit members, because that's what we're going to we want to do.

So it was really, like confusing for us.

Also a lot of dilemma, a lot of, ethical dilemma, you know, and one person gave us a house and she said that you can shoot up till here, till the to [in Nepali] but not good.

You can't go behind the door.

And yesterday the editor and we were watching the film, and was like, do you have a footage where she goes inside the house?

And was like, you know, she doesn't go inside the house.

[Anup] Not allowed.

Akanchha gave us a tour of the theatre space and chatted about her goals for this theatre collective.

We really needed a place where we could be ourselves, where we would talk about our concerns and a safe space.

So that's why it was built.

And, I think the kind of work that we do or we are known for doing is a lot of feminist theatre.

A lot of social political theatre.

A lot of theatre that makes people uncomfortable.

We didn't start out to make ourselves be known as activists or whatever.

But then, in 2019, the #MeToo movement happened, and we were like, facilitating conversations, mediating conversations.

And why us?

Because nobody else was.

We also have created a lot of plays on mental health, talking about mental health and the need for that conversation as well, because I feel like that's another thing that people don't talk about at all.

This is like the only woman led theatre in the whole country.

Like, and a lot of young women that work with us are actors and aspiring directors, and there's no set team.

Like we don't we don't believe in having, like, employees or like, you know, having like, set people like it's a transit.

I call the space like a transit.

Whenever people come in, you go out.

Nobody's bound here.

The Communist Party of Nepal rose to become the second largest party by the 1991 elections.

In 1995 CPN, a breakaway group formed demanding the creation of a Maoist People's Republic, which led to war in 1996.

On June 1st, 2001, tragedy struck when ten members of the royal family were massacred, shot dead in the royal palace.

The alleged gunman was Crown Prince Diprendra, who is said to have killed his family and then himself.

Still to this day, many conspiracy theories abound.

In November 2001, the government declared a state of emergency, mobilized the army for the first time, and declared the Maoist as terrorists.

Human rights abuses on both sides occurred, and by 2002 the government was disbanded and absolute monarchy was restored under King Gyanendra.

On February 1st, 2005 King Gyanendra declared another state of emergency.

He suspended many human rights, cut off all telecommunication systems.

Essentially, Nepal was once again shut off to the rest of the world.

The Maoists and other political parties united against the king and after 19 days of protest with a seven party alliance, the king reinstated the parliament.

Parliament in turn stripped the king of his powers and officially secularized the country.

And in 2008, the monarchy was officially abolished and Nepal became a democratic republic.

The years following democracy led to a succession of short lived governments, and in 2015 a new constitution was ratified wherein Nepal was defined as an independent indivisible, sovereign, Hindu, inclusive, democratic, socialism oriented, federal democratic, republican state.

There are a handful of notable movies filmed in Nepal, mostly foreign made films about Mount Everest in the Himalayas.

Through the decades, Mount Everest tourism became a big commodity for Nepal and some of these films raise ethical issues around this.

Sometimes with clashes between the paying foreigner clients and the locals who live there and work in the tourist industry.

Climbing Mount Everest has become highly commercialized.

The most well-known may be “Himalaya,” which was the first Nepali film to receive an Academy Award nomination.

Directed by a Frenchman, Eric Valli, “Himalaya” was shot on location on Dolpo, a remote part of western Nepal and used local villagers as actors in the film.

“Everest,” directed by Icelandic filmmaker Baltasar Kormakur, was an unauthorized adaptation of Jon Krakauer█s book “Into Thin Air,” which Krakauer called “total bull.” For the record, I highly recommend reading Into Thin Air.

Taking dramatic license, the film is based on the 1996 Everest climbing season, which led to many deaths and forever changed climbing history.

My preferred mountain movie is “Sherpa,” a documentary directed by Australian Jennifer Peedom.

A very interesting doc about the avalanche that killed 16 Sherpas in 2014, replacing 1996 as the worst climbing season to hit Nepal.

The movie is largely told through the point of view of the Sherpa people who experience this.

It's nice to finally have these stories told through primarily local rather than foreign perspectives.

There are many other films set in or about these mountains, including “Highway To Dhampus,” “Kathmandu, A Mirror In The Sky.” “Even When I Fall,” “Red Monsoon,” “14 Peaks,” “Who Will Be A Gurkha,” “Aftershock,” and many, many more.

Not expecting too much, but I'm just hoping that when we reach the high points, we get good views.

Hopefully, but no expectations.

Whatever we get, Just embrace it.

Anup invited me to go on a two week Himalayan walking trek to see the beauty of Nepal, and experience firsthand his love for traveling through his country.

For 14 days straight, we walked between small villages without once coming across a vehicle accessible road.

No cars, no motorcycles, nor mopeds or scooters.

Just foot traffic or hoof traffic.

Supplies are carried by mules and donkeys.

Once above 11,000ft, there are more yaks than people.

In Nepal, until the 1970s, there were few roads.

Rather an intricate collection of foot paths and suspension bridges connecting villages.

It's these same footpaths we walked on our 14 day trek through Manaslu.

After the Malla dynasty was defeated by the Shahs and unified Nepal in 1768, all foreigners were expelled and a self-imposed isolation period began.

It was not until 1951 that foreigners were slowly let back into visit Nepal.

When the sprinkling of democracy started to form in the early 1960s, the government began to build schools, improve literacy rates and built roads.

One of my favorite aspects of the trek is that it took us through different regions, cultures, climates and landscapes in Nepal.

We started the trek low in elevation from the small village of Lapubeshi in the Gurkha district.

Modern Nepal was formed after the small kingdom of Gurkha grew in strength.

On the hike, we saw views of rice paddies and a single snow peaked mountain along the river.

We started our trek at an elevation of 3307ft.

By our third or fourth trek day.

We were in villages that are more Buddhist than Hindu.

You start to see mani walls with Buddhist scriptures inscribed in stone slabs.

The higher up you get, the more mani walls you find.

Lined with prayer flags and often Tibetan prayer wheels.

When approaching these walls, you walk around them clockwise in order to respect the Buddhist tradition.

You walk up and up and up and up and get closer to Tibet, across the pass at almost 17000 feet and back down again, crossing the Annapurna Conservation Area and into the Manaslu district.

Jungle.

Forests.

Rivers.

Mountains.

Snow.

A day or two after we crossed the Larkya La Pass, which was our longest and most strenuous day, the rest of the hike was mostly downhill and we began to enter Hindu villages again, evidenced by the tika wearing locals.

Historically, not many Nepalese would go on treks, like it, it was seen as something for the foreigners that came in and do.

So... Talk to me about that.

As your experience as an actual local person born here who fell in love with trekking, And how did you experience that.

For me, it was just that I wanted to go.

I mean, I started back in 2012, but at that time it wasn't very famous.

Yes.

And they were like a handful of people who would trek, Nepalese, for fun.

The first time I went on a trek, it was just three Nepali guys walking in the mountains.

And whenever we used to reach any place, like the homestay or the tea house, they were a little surprised.

And they used to ask us, “Where's your guest?” Eventually, after the earthquake.

the trekking scene changed a lot in Nepal.

You know, a lot of people started trekking all of a sudden because there was, outside, tourists were less.

And then the locals, like Nepalese people, went to the mountains during the time of the earthquake, just to volunteer or to help.

And then it suddenly kicked in, you know, and a lot more Nepalese people started trekking.

So mountain is one place, even if you have money.

And you get into some kind of trouble, that money is not going to buy you off that trouble.

There could be a situation where you're sick and it's nighttime and you have all the money in the world, but you cannot have a helicopter which is going to come there to rescue you because it just cannot fly there.

Or if the weather is bad, so when you're up in the mountains, it it makes you it makes you very grounded.

You know, it tells you that you're just a small piece are a very small dot.

In September 2025, massive demonstrations took place all across the country, known as the Gen Z protests, which began around the same time as a nationwide ban of social media went into effect.

Protesters were demonstrating against corruption and the high wealth of government officials.

Government buildings were raided, the parliament building was set on fire along with the homes of political leaders.

At least 76 people were reported dead and hundreds were injured during the protests.

Six months later, elections were held and an ex-Kathmandu Mayor and former rapper Balenda Shah became the Prime Minister.

This was seen as a big win for the Gen Z protesters.

What does it mean to you to be 36 here in Nepal and pursuing filmmaking and all that?

Of course, it gets troublesome at times to be as a filmmaker in Nepal because people take advantage of you and most of them want you to work for free.

But you also say that wherever there is a lot of problem, there's a lot of opportunity because not much has been done.

This is a place where you don't hit the iron when it's hot, you make it hot by striking it.

And if you if you're persistent and you keep striking it, sometime you will break it.

And it's not just I don't say I'm the one who's going to break it, but me and there are many others like me.

So if we stay persistent, eventually one of us is going to break that ice and prove that Nepal is worthy of making films that are acceptable in the rest of the world.

What's your biggest desire for yourself in your life as a filmmaker and a person.

I want to summit an 8000 meter peak.

Not Everest, because Everest is too commercial and too expensive, but also to make a feature film and put it in the theatre and have my dad go watch it.

It's not a very it's not a very comfortable zone.

It's not a very it's not a very soft cushion, but it's something that always keeps you on your toes.

See, it's no fun driving on a straight road, right?

A road needs to have turns.

And I, even our highways have full power U-turns, you know?

So that's that's how life is.

It's just a it's not a long, straight road.

It's a lot of turns and a lot of curves and a lot of surprises.

Shortly after we began editing Anup█s Cinema Nomad episode, I received news of Anup█s passing.

At first I didn't believe it.

I was heartbroken, in shock.

Honestly, I'm still processing it.

Anup was the first filmmaker I connected with at the start of our Cinema Nomad journey.

We were just 33 then.

When we met in person, four years later, to film his episode in Nepal, he was so open in showing me his life, Generous with his time, meeting his family, introducing me and Tizzz to a wealth of experiences we wouldn't otherwise have known.

I felt at once that Anup and I were destined to be lifelong friends.

I took for granted how precious life can be.

When I reached out to share the exciting news that his episode would air on TV, his wife told me of the cancer that took him to this next place on his spiritual journey, But that he made all his family and friends laugh right until the very end.

I wish we didn't lose a friend but I'm grateful for the time spent with Anup.

Seeing him on the screen with his calming presence, his sage wisdom wise beyond his years and in his happy place surrounded by the mountains, camera in hand, his stories and his loved ones.

It brings me so much joy.

To learn more about the Cinema Nomad Filmmakers and dive deeper into the exciting world of global cinema, visit our website, Cinema Nomad.TV [footsteps across map] Steedee On [film slate claps] {yak licking]