Shot in January 2018 in Pokhara, Nepal
Genre: Drama
Running Time: 15’ 30
Aspect Ratio: 1:2.39
Screening Format: 2K DCP, .mov, mp4 (HD)
Sound: 5.1 Stereo.
Shot on Red Helium, 8K, 25 fps.
Language: Nepali, English, German.
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, German, Italian, Hebrew, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Arabic.

Logline

In an impoverished country, rife with contradiction, a young girl is torn by her obligation to her family and the influence of foreign visitors.

Synopsis

Nestled between a beautiful lake and the Himalayas, Ashmina, 13, lives with her family at the outskirts of Pokhara Nepal, paragliding capital of the world.

The remote and traditional town is also a busy tourist destination where the locals are profoundly affected by the swarms of tourists who visit it daily. Forced to skip school, Ashmina helps her family make ends meet by working at the landing field, packing the parachutes of foreign pilots in return of small change.

Director's Statement

Ashmina’s story was inspired by a 2014 trip to Nepal. Following a mountain climbing expedition in the Everest region, I travelled to Pokhara to complete my training as a paragliding pilot. I was immediately captivated by the young children who were working in the landing field and instantly knew that I would one day return to Nepal to capture their story on film.

From the very beginning, I envisioned Ashmina as a social realist film. It was shot in open locations, using mostly available light and a local semi-professional crew. The cast is made-up of locals, non-professional actors who we met in the location in which the story takes place. The foreigners portraying David and his friends are backpackers who we met in the streets of Pokhara who had to take time off from their travels so they could participate in the film.

Ashmina attempts to authentically capture the world of the protagonist, a young Nepali girl living in a traditional society, a culture which is threatened and challenged by the flood of tourists who visit it daily. The people, places, and atmosphere we’ve captured in the film are real, and the crew was minimal which
allowed us to work inconspicuously and capture the essence of the world around us.

For distribution questions use the Contact form.

Dekel Berenson - Writer / Director

Dekel Berenson is an award winning Israeli writer, director, and member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Drawing inspiration from traveling to more than sixty countries, Dekel explores real-world social and humanitarian issues. His short film Anna premiered in Competition at the 72nd Cannes Film Festival, won the Best British Short award at the 22nd BIFA awards and was shortlisted for a BAFTA. His short film Ashmina won numerous prizes, including Best Short Film at the 59th Krakow Film Festival and Best Live Action Short at the 36th Jerusalem Film Festival, qualifying the film for Academy Awards consideration twice. The two films screened in more than 600 festivals.

Dikshya Karki - Ashmina

It is always our preference to work with real people, non-professional actors who are discovered in the location in which the story takes place. Their performance add a layer of authenticity to the film which is difficult to achieve while working with established actors. This is doubly important when working with children or young adults.

Dikshya Karki, 13, is a native of Pokhara and a student at a local school. Following a lengthy casting process, she was selected for the role from among dozens of other girls. Dikshya then undertook extensive training as a “packing girl,” spending more than six weeks at the local landing field, learning the ins and outs of folding parachutes.

The local packers, at the time of shooting exclusively boys, were at first suspicious of Dikshya but quickly adopted her as one of their own. She became so good at packing paragliders that within days she was being paid for the job by pilots who did not know that she was there for the role.

Fabian Gleeson
David (Australia)

Born in Geelong Australia in 1986.  From 2004 - 2017 worked as a carpenter. At age 18 began to paraglide but stopped in 2007 after a near death experience. Started paragliding again in 2016 and is now training acrobatics and flying different locations around the world. Heard about Ashmina from a Facebook post and decided to audition for the role. Hobbies also include skateboarding and electronic music production.

Prakat Pageni
Ashmina's Father (Nepal)

Born in Deurali, a small village in the Northern-Central Nepal, Shiva is a teacher, writer and poet. He recorded more than 45 songs and published his first book of poems in 1999. He has been involved with a number of Nepali family planning organizations and is currently teaches literature and drama at the Global Public School in Kathmandu and at local public schools in Pokhara.

Sadhana Bhandari
Ashmina's Mother (Nepal)

Born in Nuwakot, Sadhana moved to Kathmandu in 2004 to pursue a career as a Nurse and Midwife. Between 2006 and 2012 worked for international NGOs as a team leader and paramedical staff treating HIV patients, women and children, as well as infected drug users. Began taking acting lessons in 2013 and since then have been involved in the Kathmandu independent theatre and film scenes.

Additional Cast & Crew

Production and Crew

Executive Producers - Andrew Carlberg, Elad Keidan
First Assistant Director - Dominic Davey
Local Assistant Director - Prashish Bajracharya
Runner Assistant Director - Laxman Khadka
Pilot Assistant Director - Buddhi Parajuli, Subash Thapa Jonny
Runners - Suman Nagarkoti, Samrik Khatri
Arjun Neupane
Production Coordinator - Shyam Khadka
First A. Camera - Alexandre Dantas
Second A. - Sagar Shrestha, Biru Tamu
 

Hair and Makeup - Saroj Budhathoki
Steadicam Operator - Dougal Wallace
Digital Imaging Technician - Saurav KC
Sound Recordist - Miguel Antunes
Boom Operator - Sartthak Thermakov
Gaffer - Dipendra Thapaliya
Sparks - Tayka Prasad Dhyngel, Laxman Kharel, Ashok Shrestha
Art Director - Ghanashyam Shresthra
Assistant Art Director - Shiva Pariyar
Wardrobe - Madan Neupane

Post Production

Post Production Supervisor - Charlotte Stade
Editors - Ricardo Mesquita, Dekel Berenson
Sound Designer - Hugo Leitão
Music - Flash Fluharty - Dancing Like Devils
Visual Effects - Pedro Vicente
Colourist - Jennifer Mendes
Script Advisor - Marta Parlatore
Production Assistant - Tom Cullingham
Behind the Scenes Photographer - Yuyush Dhakal
Special Thanks - Andy Krakower, Toby Fell-holden, Elad Keidan, Loudness Films Lisboa.

Pilots & Folding Boys

Buddhi Parajuli, Subash Thapa Jonny, Prem Khatri Chhetri, Bishal Badhur Chhetri, Bikram Nepali,Norm Dibble, Pursu Ram Sigdel, Keran Nepali, Sunil Nepali, Sudip Nepali, Saroj Bhujel, Subash Paniyar, Ramesh Nepali, Bikash Nepali, Sujan Shrestha, Manon Deprem, Christopher Knoch, Sujan Thapa Mayar, Nabin Pariyar, Sanju Pariyar, Sandeep Nepali.