Kyrgyzstan - scout & shoot I - in pictures/behind the scenes

Gulkaiyr, our amazing translator and guide who took the best care of us and found all the characters we needed - she is an absolute godsend and we love her!
And Sophie with 'the kid' - the 5D camera that was a bit like having a teenager on the team. 

Kyrgyzstan is proper horse country - and there are statues of horses everywhere just in case you didn't already realise that.

a beautiful young wife liviing with her extended family in a caravan in Tash Rabat for the summer season. the baby is hers and the rest are her husband's niece and nephews.

the whole family and us after the interview

mountains and horses - quintessential Kyrgyzstan

a very cute lame lamb & me

young rider showing off his horse prowess at the animal bazaar in At-Bashi

we knew there would be snow but we weren't quite expecting to be shooting in a blizzard!

Sophie and I can't go and shoot somewhere without having to traverse waterways

we were very privileged to be offered the sheep's eyeball - the highest honour

need i say more?

it's a lot easier for horses to cross rivers

at least it wasn't snowing here

unwiring the old man - the father of one of our main characters - i think he was quite happy to have me fiddling underneath his coat

the lone donkey - at the front of a huge herd of sheep, cows & horses

Lake Issyk-kul - the girls had just had a very cold skinny dip

on the other side of Lake Issyk-kul - a long anticipated 'day off' and beach day in the sun for the team

Next round of post-production: new Shakti girls

After our flurry of activity with the Shakti girls last spring, the second half of last year was taken up with other pursuits such as earning money and trying to raise money. 

With the triumphant première of Talking to the Air at KIMFF, I excitedly told everyone there that Daughters of the Curved Moon would be premiering at the next KIMFF in December 2015.

So time is of the essence to finally get the cut complete. Luckily, I reconnected with two old friends, Vikas and Kiran, who had come to the Talking to the Air première. They were  just opening a new studio, Rise Global - a modern new space with a recording studio and editing suite, with their friend Sashi.

Kiran, Vikas & Sashi from Rise Global Studios

 The guys from the studio told me I should come and edit my film at their facility...

I installed FCP 7 on the iMac at the studio...

And I can plug my laptop into the second screen to actually edit and see what I'm doing!

 Meanwhile, I had connected with Sabina, one of the few female Nepali editors in town. She was interested in the project but has a full time job. Initially I thought it couldn't work as she works six days a week, but she is a dedicated worker and offered to come on Saturdays and some evenings a week.

And then my friend Greg introduced me to Mili, another female editor here in Kathmandu and she was also interested in the project! And so my team was coming together. The girls are both working out of the studio and things are taking shape. The idea that we could possibly finish the film in time for the KIMFF deadline is becoming a feasible possibility!

I love my girls and they are excited about the project and understand my vision, so I'm hopeful that between us we can get a cut done - which we can then pass to Sophie to do a final pass and polish on...

I've been pinching myself that I have two editors (who happen to understand the footage because it is in their native tongue) and a post-production STUDIO to actually finish the film.Could the end of post-production be in the (distant) sight? And could we really be premiering our film (after four years) at KIMFF this December?

We will have to see but it is certainly possible...

UPDATE: The earthquake put a stop to all work for almost 6 weeks. On 12 May, just as things were getting back to normal, Mili had returned to the studio to resume work and was actually there when the quake came! Luckily she was fine - and the studio is also intact. Editing has resumed, although we lost a lot of time, we shall keep moving forward and see what we can achieve.