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The birth of Shakti PIctures

Shakti Pictures is a visual arts film company. Shakti means divine, creative power, often associated with female energy.

Shakti Pictures was formed in October 2010 in order to produce our inaugural project, Daughters of the Curved Moon (working title), a documentary set in the Himalayas of western Nepal. The film is about a community in Jumla; a portrait of a lifestyle and culture. We are looking at women's changing role in society in rural Nepal. The inspiration came from a group of village women who attended a training programme run by a local charity, Empowering Women of Nepal and the subsequent affect it had on them.

In November 2011 we completed the first segment of shooting. We returned in March 2012, February 2013 and August 2013 for further shoots, tracking the passage of time, how things are changing in the lives of our friends and in the community in Jumla. This blog is the story of our ongoing progress.

Thursday, March 26, 2015

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.

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