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High up on the Tibetan plateau. Amongst unexplored and inaccessible valleys lies one of the last sanctuaries of the wild world, where rare and undiscovered fauna lives. Vincent Munier, one of the world’s most renowned wildlife photographers takes the adventurer and novelist Sylvain Tesson (In the Forest of Siberia) with him on his latest mission. For several weeks, they’ll explore these valleys searching for unique animals and try to spot the snow leopard, one of the rarest and most difficult big cats to approach.
American high school students from the privileged Silicon Valley travel to Manang, Nepal in this documentary about how travel and life experiences can change personal perceptions. Together with a group of Manangi high schoolers, the students expand their cultural knowledge and experience a slice of life as a citizen of the globe.
Kids and bikes; wherever you are in the world, they go together. The chaotic streets of Kathmandu may not seem like a typical breeding ground for world-class mountain bikers, but then again nothing is typical about Rajesh (RJ) Magar. Since learning to ride on a beat-up clunker, to becoming the four-time National Champion at age 21, RJ’s story is one of boundless childhood dreaming and unstoppable determination, forged from junkyard scraps and tested on the rugged trails of the mighty Himalaya.
Lignes chronicles the sublime interplay between alpine literature and an expedition seeking the true meaning of mountaineering. Four high-mountain guides—Matthieu Maynadier, Pierre Labbre, Matthieu Détrie, and Julien Dusserre—embark on a project: to summit Nangpai-Gosum, an unclimbed 7,000-meter peak in Nepal, using the "alpine style" adapted to the Himalayas—the toughest and purest approach of all. Through this expedition, Lignes attempts to answer the question: "Why do we climb mountains?" Why, despite the harsh conditions and exhaustion, do these four Alpine guides pursue a perilous dream in a realm that belongs to no one? Lignes finds some answers in the past, drawing on 150 years of alpine literature. Serving as both narrator and seasoned guide, Raymond Renaud takes us on a tour of his books and speaks of the "conquerors of the useless"—from the turn of the century to the present day.
The film tells the story of 25-year-old Urmila Chaudary from Nepal. At the age of six she was sold by her family and was forced to work as a slave under appalling conditions for 12 years. Her dream is to end child slavery in Nepal. To this end she fights today as a freedom activist. A film about the quest for justice with a strength that gives courage and hope.
The north face of Chamlang, nearly 2,000 meters high and culminating at 7,200 meters, is one of the last great unclimbed faces in the Himalayas. Benjamin Védrines, who had scouted the face during a previous ascent of Chamlang in 2019 with Nicolas Jean via the northeast couloir, decided to tackle it with Charles Dubouloz, a very strong mountaineer but a novice at high altitude. Snow slides, suspended bivouacs, pitches of mixed climbing and vertical ice… The gamble paid off for the Frenchmen, who opened a new route, "À l'ombre du mensonge" (1,600m, 5+, m5+, 90°), after four intense days on the north face—a magnificent first ascent of a coveted summit, as a duo, in alpine style.
In October 2001, five Basque mountaineers, Beñat Arrue (22), Iñaki Aiertza (27), Aritz Artieda (23), Javi Arkauz (22), and César Nieto (23)—lost their lives while climbing Mount Pumori (7,161 m) in Nepal. After the fatal avalanche, the five other members of the expedition alerted rescue services and organized an unsuccessful rescue attempt. A year later, Arantxa Gurrutxaga and Peio Arrue, Beñat Arrue's parents, returned to Nepal to pay their respects at the site of the tragedy and try to find the young Nepalese girl who appeared with their son in the last photograph of him before the accident. A growing bond developed between Suku Maya, the mountain girl, and Beñat Arrue's family, who would support and accompany him over the years. Catharsis, from tragedy to love, the death of the five young mountaineers allows Suku to have a new chance in life.
A film by Tom Spring Smyth was taken during the British Museum (Natural History) Expedition to East Nepal 1961-1962. This is a vibrant and colourful film documenting local life in East Nepal. From children playing on swings and a Ferris Wheel to goat sacrifice, shots of the mountainous landscape and vegetation, agricultural work and daily village life (domestic activities and craftwork).
For centuries in Nepal, girls - some as young as one - have been chosen to be living goddesses - or Kumaris. They are worshipped and revered by Buddhists and Hindus. The title is bestowed on three girls at any one time. Once appointed, the Kumari is confined to the temple and has little contact with the outside world. When they hit puberty they must leave and try to live an ordinary life. As part of the 100 Women season, Sahar Zand travels to Nepal to find out if this practice empowers women or demeans them. those living as Kumaris, and she talks to several former Kumaris about what life is like for them now.
