Shambhala

Min Bahadur Bham's 2024 film is set in the Dolpo region of Nepal. Pema marries three brothers under a polyandrous arrangement, and after she becomes pregnant her first husband Tashi disappears on the trade route. Pema sets out to find him. Karma, her other husband, a monk, travels with her; the real matter is not finding Tashi but what the gossip in the village forces upon Pema. The film was shot at high altitude and does not use the landscape as ornament. It is spoken in Tibetan. It became the first Nepali film selected for the main competition at the Berlin Film Festival. Who it's for: those who like slow pacing and Himalayan geography. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a fast narrative; the film moves through long silences.