For a filmmaker in Nepal, the whole country can serve as a set. With one picturesque landscape after the other, you could almost capture a beautiful image by pointing the camera in any direction. With the multitude of ethnic groups, cultures, and histories that make up the stories of Nepal, there could be a world to uncover with every encounter, especially within Remote Himalayan Communities, where traditions and ways of life remain deeply rooted in the mountains. In stark difference with most other arts, filmmaking is a collaborative effort.

Not only does a large constellation of crew and cast need to work together, but they also need to connect with local communities to make the smooth running of the operation possible. This is especially true for the way in which short and feature films are produced in a region like the Himalayas, where most remote areas are still sparsely populated and retain much of their traditional socio-cultural nuances. 

A professional film production could range from being a week long if it is a short film, to being months long if it’s a feature film, and for documentaries, sometimes the filmmaker needs to return to a community for long periods of time throughout the expanse of many years. During this time, anywhere from tens to hundreds of people could be involved in a production. In order to be able to work, a filmmaker on the Himalayas needs to find a location that is both suitable for the story, and is inhabited by families and communities that are willing to provide for the whole team throughout the time span necessary. It is a long process for a filmmaker to find this synergy, one in which entire regions of the Himalayas must be scoured, and the right individuals discovered. This can not be done without a total immersion into the lives of the communities. While this may have never been officially  thought of as a form of Community Tourism (CT), the way in which many responsible independent film productions in Nepal operate, and the long lasting effects they have, is in concordance with the intentions and impact of CT. 

To understand the principles of CT without going into too much depth, one could say that it is an approach to travel where the local residents welcome visitors to experience what their home and community lives look like. This approach allows for greater and more direct local development compared to mainstream tourism. Not only this, but CT also impacts the community by rekindling appreciation for cultural heritage and traditional knowledge. It has an impact on the mindset of people when it comes to valuing their inherent skills both as individuals and as a community. While this may sound distant from the world of filmmaking, there is a particular exception for films shot in rural Nepal. It is not far-fetched to say that a good amount of such productions do not have access to mainstream accommodation and dining facilities. Some provisions can be brought along from the cities, but they still greatly rely on local hospitality for basic survival and sustenance. Although under a different guise, the premise of this type of hospitality sisters that of CT initiatives, where homestays play a key role in accommodation and dining. It might not be defined or organized in the same way, but the mutual impact is comparable. 

In regards to this, the team from Mediaport, a Kathmandu based production company that has an extensive history of shooting in areas of Nepal where mainstream accommodation and dining simply do not exist, has a lot to say. Having lived through a decade of experiences ranging from total welcoming and collaboration, to tense moments where sticks were thrust into their wheels, this production team has great insight about the impact communities and film productions have on each other. Their experience serves as an example for how deeply a film production needs to coexist with the communities they are shooting in. Mr. Prawin Karki, the producer of Mediaport productions says that filmmaking has many stages, from looking for the right location, to casting locals as actors, and that filmmakers rely on local collaboration for more things than one would initially imagine. He explains that, “the cast and crew of a feature film is often accommodated in each and every family’s home throughout an entire village. It is just like staying in homestays, without officially calling it that way. We stay with the local families for many months without interruption sometimes, and we form a very close personal tie with them. Without this closeness, it would be impossible to do our work. There have been cases in which we had to pack our equipment and go due to conflict with the villagers. Choosing the right people to work with can either make or break a film, which is why our scouting process can take years sometimes, as we travel and consider tens of places and communities before deciding on one.”

To this, Mr. Dipendra Bhandari, the successful filmmaker of Journey to Yarsa, adds that, “if we want to think of some similarities between CT and responsible filmmaking, the accommodation factor comes into mind first, but the one of food and sustenance is just as relevant. If you are shooting for many months at a time, there is only so much one can bring from the city. All the food we consume comes directly from the local’s fields, we only ever eat fresh seasonal produce, which is the most sustainable practice one could implement. When we want to eat meat, it becomes a communal experience. Often, villagers are not willing to kill a goat because they don’t have enough people to consume all the meat in time and they are afraid that it will go to waste. When we offer to buy the goat and share the meat with all the villagers, it becomes a happy occasion and we are shown their local hospitality to even greater depth. It is important to remember that we must give as much as we receive from these people whose hospitality has no bounds.” Both Mr. Karki and Mr. Bhandari agree that the manpower necessary to make a film is extensive. The technical crew, production team, and actors may come from the city, but they require guides and porters to go from one place to another, and carry the incredibly heavy equipment required for filming. They may also hire mules and horses for this purpose, further helping the local economy. 

Hospitality however, does not end with basic food and accommodation. Mr. Bhandari recounts that entertainment is seen as part of the host’s responsibility, and it is not only a good way to spend the evenings, but also serves as a means of income for the villagers. He recounts that, “often in the evenings, our hosts will provide us with local, homemade alcohol, and they will organize cultural programs. It is always a pleasure to witness local dances and musical performances because once we are familiar enough, we will also sing and dance with them.

We manage to pay the performers even though they are reluctant to accept money. This is the same for the hosts of the homes that accommodate us. If we say, here is some money for the food and beds, they will never accept it. We always need to disguise the reason we want to give them money by saying, this is for your child’s education, or this is for your mother’s hospital treatment. Their hospitality culture makes it a taboo for them to accept payment for what they perceive to be basic hospitality, especially if we are staying in people’s private homes rather than in teahouses. It is our responsibility not to abuse this culture, and when offering money, we need to be tactful and truly consider what it costs them to host and feed us.” As in CT experiences, vernacular music and dance is both a way of uniting people, and a way for the performers to generate some income. 

During the shoot of a feature film that is still unreleased, the team from Mediaport lived in Accham for more than a year without interruption. The most interesting aspect of this project in particular is that the cast is entirely composed of people belonging to the local community. It has been established that finding an appropriate place to shoot in is arduous to begin with, but involving local non-actors in a production of such scale adds many layers to how deeply the filmmakers need to connect and immerse themselves into the community. Mr. Karki, the producer of this film, says that on this occasion, the whole community was involved in each and every step of the production of this film, “if we need the locals as actors too, we need to make sure that they relate to the story, and feel a personal desire to be in the film. None of our actors had ever expressed an interest in acting before meeting us, however they agreed since they found the story relatable to their own lives. They were convinced that it is significant to portray their story in the film, and were completely invested in it. We were living with them, eating with them, going to the emotionally challenging places the story of the film brought us to, and the actors’ involvement made sure that their whole families and neighbors supported us too. By the time we had to pack up and leave the villages we filmed in, we were all in tears, some of the goodbyes were truly like saying goodbyes to old friends as we went through so much together during the time of shooting, both mentally and physically.” This local involvement in the filmmaking process inadvertently achieved one of the goals of CT, which is to open up new professional pathways for the locals. Being in such close contact with a powerhouse of creativity such as a film production team can be a unique experience for people from remote areas, and witnessing their creative force in action is awe inspiring. A good number of youths who acted in the film decided to come to Kathmandu to study film or pursue acting professionally. They are, of course, supported by the filmmakers in any way possible, as life in Kathmandu can be difficult for someone who has no ties to the city. 

“It is the responsibility of a filmmaker to continue helping the people who were involved in his film,” says Mr. Bhandari. His most famous work, Journey to Yarsa, follows the lives of the people who collect the famed cordyceps fungus in the most remote parts of the Himalayas. Filmed more than a decade ago in Maikot, Rukum, Mr.Bhandari is still an influential person when it comes to helping the community featured in his documentary. “At first, it seems as though a filmmaker is using local communities only for his advantage, as he makes the film, builds his career and his fortune, but if the filmmaker is a responsible person, then what he can give to the community can be far greater than what he receives.”

Besides Yarsagumba, many of Rukum’s locals make their living by trading local medicinal herbs, mad honey, fruits and vegetables, but their isolation can make it difficult for them to connect with reliable buyers. Mr.Bhandari continuously coordinates relations between local traders and buyers both nationally and internationally, significantly boosting their yearly income. He has also helped local authorities establish trekking routes that follow the trails walked by Yarsa hunters, which suscitated great curiosity amongst travelers. He helped organize the touristic experience of traveling with the hunters to collect the famous medicine.

In this case, “the travel agency keeps 10 to 15 percent of the revenues, while the rest goes directly into the hands of the locals, and the money is almost always spent on the younger generation’s health and education. This new stream of revenue for the region and locals is a direct effect of the global success of this documentary, as travelers from far and across have growing interest in walking these trails, witnessing the hunters in action, and picking the fungus themselves. He adds that, “people who have watched the documentary have contacted me asking to coordinate financial support for the people featured in my documentary.

This has helped pay for health expenses and education of many, as well as paying back their debt. It is a pleasure for me to be the middleman for business or aid transactions, as it costs me nothing to put people in contact with each other. Even though it’s been so long since I shot that film, I still have contact with the villagers on an almost daily basis. They changed my life, and I welcome every opportunity to help them back.” 

This is not the first time in which a film or documentary has permanently affected the economic and social climate of a village. Mr.Karki recounts that after the release of a popular Nepali film called Kabaddi, the village in which it was shot, Naurikot in Mustang, gained a popularity that the filmmakers had never foreseen. It started what he calls, film tourism, as people visited the areas in which the film was shot with the desire of witnessing in person the places they love so much on screen. He says that, “when a film crew leaves a village having had a good experience, they will become fervent ambassadors of that place, talking to no end about the warmth with which they were welcomed and treated. Other filmmakers often ask us about our experience of various locations as they are scouting for their own films, and we are very open about which communities are collaborative and which aren’t. Every filmmaker who has shot in Remote Himalayan Communities is a valuable resource in this respect.”

The whole region of Mustang has gained great tourist popularity for a multitude of reasons like its natural beauty and vernacular culture, and film has played a small but significant part in this popularity. Mr. Karki, whose ongoing film in Accham is set during the period of civil war in Nepal, says that the beautiful region has a yet to be popularized trekking trail that follows the footsteps of the guerilla soldiers. He notes that such hidden trails in Remote Himalayan Communities often remain unknown until films bring them to light.

“The locals understand the mutual benefit of our collaboration very well, which is why they are so willing to work with us, however, there is no understanding of the relationship between films and tourism on a governance level. If local governments would understand the role filmmakers can have in the success of a location as a tourist destination, then they might think of supporting us too, but they have not made the connection so far,” says Mr. Karki.

Mr. Bhandari, who was involved in a film called Talking to the air, recounts the social impact this film had on some rural villages in Mustang, “at the time of shooting, many villages were feeling the first whiffs of modernization. Horses have historically had a huge role in the culture of Mustang, but in recent times, they have been replaced with motor vehicles, as the road network became more developed. Along with this, some villages stopped celebrating Yarthung, a three day long horse riding festival, because of their sparse population.

After watching our film, the people from these villages were reminded of how deeply they love and miss their horses and their riding culture. They had replaced their horses with motorbikes, but they told me that after our film they were feeling ashamed of the fact that they stopped grooming horses, and that they had stopped celebrating Yarthung in their village. Now, they have started doing both again, and feel immensely proud of it.”

While it is normal that as cultures evolve some practices are maintained and some die out, it is beautiful to witness when people re-establish their ancient practices because they feel a burning in their heart to do so. As it happens with places that have been culturally impacted by CT initiatives, this comes to show that sometimes people may need outside appreciation to remind themselves how dear elements of their identity are to them. 

Filmmaking in Remote Himalayan Communities is a long process that requires a lot of convincing and local involvement, but as in many other cases, the pay-off makes the hardship worth it. Not only does the filmmakers’ livelihoods depend on the relationships they can build with such communities, but when done responsibly, the socio-economic impact can be felt by the people they work with too.

Similarly to practices followed by CT, the most important thing to keep at heart is that the identity of rural and indigenous people in the Himalayas should never be exploited for monetary gain. It is key to realize that in the Himalayas, professional relationships can end with a simple monetary transaction, but can also have the potential to have a future trajectory that continues to benefit all the parties involved for the years to come.