74. Berlinale Film Festival

This year's Berlinale left us with many new impressions: from the wonderful Campari Lounge, located right next to the Berlinale Palast, which welcomed us in such large numbers every day at Potsdamer Platz, to the crowning finale when we were able to watch the film "Shambhala" with the Nepalese ambassador Ram Kaji Khadka and his wife Bina in the well-attended Berliner Festspielhaus. We asked for his very personal review, which we are happy to share with you here:

Nepali movie “Shambhala” made a blockbuster entry into the Berlin International Film Festival “Berlinale” being held on 15-25 February 2024. The geographical setting, plot, theme, characters, story, and play in the movie have been intertwined in such a way that they are speaking a lot about family, social, cultural, religious, and natural beauty of the upper Himalayan region without using much of the conversation. The tradition of polyandry that is prevalent in the society seems to be the harbinger of hardships to women and girls.

Role of Pema as the wife of three husbands, mother of an unruly child Dawa who dreams to be a pilot, lover of an outsider-Ram Sir- and a tiller of land for survival, and an advocate of truth, has depicted an embodiment of social values and spiritual sanctity. Pema’s struggle to find her disappointed husband Tashi in order to establish truth about the father of the newly conceived baby leads her to nowhere but to the spiritual world where she might find her own true being and also reunite with her husband Tashi. The trust on Guru Rinpoche and monks to drive a happy and peaceful life has another dimension in the movie where Rinpoche informs Pema of being pregnant. That brings ecstasy of love in the face of Pema but it also becomes the starting point of her struggle.

Traditional way of life including the cross border trade between Nepal and Tibet (China) using yaks, mules, and horses tells how the people are falling behind in embracing modernity. In essence, the film has presented the true story of everyday life of people in the upper Himalayan region of Nepal while depicting social, cultural, religious, and geographical diversity in a very subtle manner. 

Ram Kaji Khadka 
Ambassador of Nepal to Germany