APM - Asian Project Market

 

Back to list Shambhala (aka A Year of Cold)

Director’s Profile

An award-winning filmmaker from Nepal, Min Bahadur Bham graduated in filmmaking and literature, and has a master’s degree in Buddhist Philosophy and Political Science. His short film, The Flute (2012), was the first Nepalese film presented at the Venice International Film Festival 2012. He was a participant of the Berlinale Talents 2013, and the Asian Film Academy 2013, and was awarded the Dongseo Scholarship Fund.
His feature directorial debut, The Black Hen (2015), was the first Nepalese film presented at Venice Critics’ Week and was awarded Fedeora Award for the Best Film 2015. It was a huge box office success and also the official Nepalese entry for the Academy Awards 2016, in the category of Best Foreign Language Film.
He has also produced films that have screened at various international film festivals, including Venice, San Sebastian, Busan, Locarno, Tokyo, Seattle, and Montreal.

Synopsis

Based in the hidden laps of the Northern Himalayas in Nepal, the film follows the story of a young village girl, Pema (19), a Tibetan refugee, who is forcibly married to three brothers according to the local custom of Polyandry. After the wedding, Tashi, the oldest husband, leaves Pema alone at home to go trading, and disappears in the high mountains bordering Tibet. The younger husband, Karma, a monk, spends his life in anticipation of taking a journey of great honor with his master, Rinpoche. And, when the youngest husband, Tshering, arrives home from a trading trip to India with a new wife, Pema, now pregnant, finds herself without a family or a home.
The story follows Pema and Karma as they travel on a journey across the roof of the world to find her lost husband, Tashi, and bring him back. Along the way, they discover the meaning of love and belonging. Both find an ever-deeper connection, in the material world and also spiritually, and begin to realize and understand that the purpose of their journey is bound up with the fate and karma of life. In the end, Pema learns to overcome numerous hurdles put in her way by her physical condition and the natural environment, as well as by her companion. The journey shapes her into a strong woman who learns the meaning of love, compassion and sacrifice.

Achievements

2024 Berlin International Film Festival - Competition
2024 Sydney Film Festival
2024 Melbourne International Film Festival
2024 Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival

Back to list