People’s Nepal

The idea to do a documentary on the changing political scene in Nepal came from a visit and conversation with a officer in Nepalese army during a layover in Bangkok.  It jelled with follow up conversations with old friends in Kathmandu.

Pam and I were in Nepal as part of a private trip we were guiding across the front range of the Himalaya by road. We drove from southern Nepal to the capital of Bhutan via Darjeeling and the Indian state of West Bengal.

At that time Nepal was in a suspended political state before a constitution was approved and after the King had given up power. I was curious how things had gotten to this place and asked around to discover Nepalese cameramen had footage from the “17 days in May” in 2006 that were the culmination of dissatisfaction and protest that led to the King’s overthrow.

I went back after that trip to interview those who witnessed the events and to find the footage that would tell the story.

Chris Vebberts composed original music, Peter Coyote did the narration and I shot the interviews and edited the footage from the brave cameramen in Nepal.

Available on DVD from Amazon. 2010, 77 minutes.

Original Sound track by Chris Vebberts.