It is a scene from the documentary, “Saving Dolma.”[break]
Directed by acclaimed writer-turned-filmmaker Kesang Tseten, the documentary follows the story of Dolma Sherpa, a Nepali housemaid in Kuwait who was sentenced to death on the accounts of killing her Filipino housemate. The documentary was screened first on the fourth day of the 8th Kathmandu Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) and it also closed the festival on Monday (yesterday).
Based on the perils of Nepali women working in the Gulf nations, Tseten deals expertly with the issue that has been ailing Nepal for long. His earlier works –“The Desert Eats Us” and “In Search of the Riyal” – discussed the problems of Nepali male workers in the Gulf while his latest offering focuses on Nepali women.
“The situation is precarious for Nepali women in the Gulf because they work behind closed doors while men work in public spaces,” the director said, addressing queries from audiences.
A graduate from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Tseten’s works have always dealt with socially and culturally powerful issues. “Frames of War” was a hard hitting documentary on the devastation of the 10-year “people’s war.” “Machchhendranath: On the Road with the Red God” exposed the story behind the celebration of the ancient chariot festival, and “Hami Kunako Manchhe: We Hope Chaps” told the story of the building of a bridge in rural Rasuwa.
The screenplay of “Mukundo: Mask of Desire” was also written by him. All of Tseten’s works have been widely screened at film festivals around the world, and he has been at the forefront of Nepali documentary making.
Having produced films that are expository yet questioning, Tseten sees the current trends in Nepali documentary making as being young. The vocal filmmaker shared, “For me, a documentary should pose questions, raise doubts, and most films are mere expositions.”
He does not underestimate their craft but believes that they cannot bloom fully to their possibilities as documentaries. Working on his three series of documentaries about Nepali migrant workers, Tseten was moved and touched by the stories of Nepali migrant workers, as it mainly affects the lives of poor people.
“You get the contours of the subject, and then you see how to create a form that’s suitable for the material, like solving a puzzle,” he mentioned.
Also planning a feature film, the director has always been passionate about writing. He has been writing both fiction and non-fiction.
“Feature or documentary or animation, it depends really on how you do it rather than one being higher or lower than the other. People mistake the glamour or allure of features as a higher calling. It’s not; it depends on the how rather than the what,” he asserted.
“Saving Dolma,” received the audience award at the 8th KIMFF.
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