Underplayed Gems

Shambala (2024)

Shambala poster
Original title
शम्भाला
Directed by
Min Bahadur Bham
Genre
drama film
Country
Nepal
Runtime
2h 30m
Rated
12
Rating
7.8 of 10 from 13 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

In a remote Himalayan Buddhist community, a pregnant woman named Pema embarks on a difficult journey to find her missing husband. She faces harsh terrain and social challenges while traveling alone in a vulnerable condition.

contemplativevisually strikingemotionally restrainedatmosphericslow-pacedmelancholicresilientgrounded

What happens

Shambhala is a 2024 drama film directed by Min Bahadur Bham from a screenplay written by Bham and Abinash Bikram Shah. Starring Thinley Lhamo, Tenzin Dalha and Sonam Topden. Shambhala is the most expensive movie of Nepal made on the budget रू15 crore (US$980,000). It was selected in the Competition at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, where it competed for the Golden Bear. Set in Nepal’s Upper Dolpo, the film follows Pema, a pregnant woman from a Tibetan-speaking Buddhist Himalayan community, as she searches for her missing husband. A task which she has to do amidst being pregnant under challenging precarious circumstances. The international co-production between Nepal, France, Norway, Hong Kong, China, Turkey, Taiwan, USA and Qatar world-premiered on 23 February 2024 at the Berlinale Palast. Shambhala is the first Nepali-language feature film to be in competition at a major film festival and the first South Asian film in three decades to compete in the main competition at the Berlinale. The film was also selected as the Nepalese entry for Best International Feature Film at the 97th Academy Awards. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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