Pemba returns to Goli
From Jopergon we are preparing the documentary film Pemba returns to Goli in coproduction with the catalan broadcaster TV3.
The film recounts the story of an Himalayan Sherpa, Pemba, whom nine years ago decided to settled in Taradell, a town in the province of Barcelona, in search of a better future for her family.
With Pemba we will travel to Goli, in the foothills of The Everest, to visit her family and discover through ten people who live there; the farmer, the monk, the witch, the mountain guide ... how people live in one of the most remote and wild places of the planet.
Each of the characters is a metaphor of the Sherpa’s life at different levels: the farm life, the relationship with the religion, the mountain expeditions, the role of the woman, the education, the health, the politics, etc. The intention is to compose an organic mosaic of life in a Himalayan Sherpa community.
Intentions
The film wants to present Pemba as an example and inspiration for many others whom like her once came to Europe looking for a better future. At the same time, the films wants to portrait of one of the last nations which is living far of the so-called civilization, and also the changing world which is enveloping its inhabitants, due to the unstoppable arrival of progress, the Climate Change and the presence of tourists. Rousseau would say “the end of romanticism”; a man more pragmatic would talk about the benefits that progress can bring...
How we will use your contributions
The film is co-produced with TV3 and we do have some small public and private contributions, but we have not yet completed our financial plan. The amount requested will be used to pay all the travel expenses of the three people (director, cameraman and protagonist) that will travel to Nepal for four weeks to shoot the film. Expenses like to hire porters and guides in the mountains, to pay the meals and the accommodation, the local transport, or some other logistics that we will need.
Where is Goli
In Nepal, near the Tibet, in the province of Solu Khumbu. It is the region with the highest concentration of eight thousand meter peaks of the Earth and "the country" of the Sherpas. From Kathmandu you have to take a bus on a winding mountain road to Jiri and from there, travel three days by hanging bridges and gorges.
How is Goli
About 40 families live in Goli. Goli has been disconnected from world and progress for centuries. In Goli there is neither electricity nor sewage system and the nearest river is at 45 minute walking distance. Children need to walk three hours every day, though mountain paths to go to the nearest secondary school. Bears and snow leopards prowl around in the nearby forest; and deers and eagles hung around the village constantly.
In Goli, you can sit in the fields and see six thousand meter peaks stretching right in front of you. The evenings in Goli still happens in front of the fire, cooking the vegetables they produce and telling stories. In Goli, everyone has a role to fulfill: some plant seeds to raise vegetables in the fields; others, take care of the cattle, and others, carry dozens of kilos on their shoulders for days to bring up everything they need to complement their economy, things which are not able to be self‐produced; salt, sugar, rice, a pair of shoes, some medicines...
Characters
With Pemba we could meet, among others, to:
Ang Maya, a farmer who will explain to us the intricacies of terrace farming in high altitudes
Ngwang Jigme, the monk, who officiates weddings, births and funerals following the Buddhist tradition, ceremonies that bring together people from all over the region.
Dawa Chhriri, the sorcerer, whose mission with its intricate rituals, is to heal the sick and to revive the crops.
Chhrinig Dolma, the teacher, a woman that has the responsibility to bring education to these remote place.
Pasang, a young mountain guide who risk his life in climbing expeditions with western tourist to earn good money that otherwise would be unthinkable to achieve....
With them we could see this simple but hard life of a whole community following nothing but sunrise and sunset. Or the efforts needed to save enough money just to buy a cellphone, one of the most desired tools today in the Himalayas. Or how all the villagers work together to rebuild a house destroyed during the last earthquake...
Working plan
We will shoot in october and we will do the postproduction (image edition and sound mixing) in november and december, so the film will be finished at the end of 2016 or the begining of 2017.
About the rewards
The rewards regarding tickets to attend a screening of the documentary, as well as customized screenings for companies or groups of friends, will be ready from 2017, which is when we will begin to show the film.
The rewards that includes film tickets for Cineclub Diòptria will be ready after September 2016, the begining of its season.
And if you are to come with us to the Himalayas, prepare your boots and photo camera because we leave next September ....
Who we are
The producer and director of the project is Josep Pérez, who has an experience of 20 years in the audiovisual world, having produced and directed a dozen short films and a feature film; being the director of five TV series and a scriptwriter for some of the best production companies in Madrid and Barcelona. He also works as a journalist for various papers in the province of Girona.
Roger Lleixà is the director of photography. As a filmmaker he nourish content fot the Video Channel of La Vanguardia and has directed the documentary Reinventing journalism. As a photojournalist has published in media such as National Geographic, La Vanguardia, Diario de Mallorca, Marca, Diari de Girona or Setmanari Alt Empordà. He also works in advertising for companies like La Caixa Foundation and The Design Museum of Barcelona.
José Luis Molero will be the postproduction engineer. He has worked on dozens of national and international productions with leading artists from the Estudios Music Lan; among its many mentions, features a Grammy Award for his work with Jarabe de Palo.
Santi Escura will be the author of the score. Composer, arranger and pianist, he has participated for the past 20 years in numerous projects of classical music or jazz, whether strictly musical or connected to other arts such as theater, cinema or museum instalations.
Recomendations
Two legends of the Himalayas and with big experience in Nepal like Ferran Latorre and Conrad Blanch have recorded this video explaining why they want the movie to be made.
Ferran Latorre is the most renowned mountaineer in the country, he is currently engaged in his challenge to crown the 14 eight thousand meter peaks of the planet. He has just arrived from Nepal where he climbed Makalu.
Conrad Blanch is a legend in mountaineering; he was the chief of the first Catalan expedition to the Everest; former President of the Centre Excursionista de Catalunya, and current CEO of the Sky Station Gran Valira (Andorra)
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