In these 10 minutes we see her walking home from school, doing her homework, doing laundry and being pushed out of line while getting water, because of her “Untouchable” caste status. We get a big dose of how frustrating it is to live in a small space while trying to get ahead in school. There is also a hint at the enormous tension she has with her sister in law.

It ends with Shanta looking into the camera, and her voice over saying, “I am…hoping to become somebody.”

Chills. It gets me every time. I wonder if it does others. (And every time I ask myself: Do I get chills because I know her and know how true this is for her? Are conveying this meaning–and the chills–to other viewers?)

Something important to think about. This is the reason we believe we need an editing consultant—someone who wasn’t in the room with us filming, who can say, ‘that might have been a big moment in Nepal, but it doesn’t translate in your footage’.

Not that we want to hear that. Unless it’s true. Then it is Super valuable.

But all in all, we think the trailer works. It sets up the problem, introduces a main character and shows off our filmmaking style.

The thing is, this wasn’t always the trailer. I made a 3 minute trailer that I love. I actually think this gets folks* more excited about film, so I am not going to shelve it. What do you think?

*{by “folks” I mean regular people, civilians, as opposed to people who live and breathe documentaries, like funders and other documentarians}

Here’s the 3-minute version. What do you think?

Three: The GirlWorld Teaser from NonFiction Media on Vimeo.

Then after that, came the week of editing the trailer–a different kind of blur. The kind where we didn’t collect our mail and ate off the same pizza for breakfast and dinner. After three long days including two very late nights, we finished it and are continuing to finish it. It is difficult not to pick at–like a scab or zit–no, it is more like a painting on the wall that never looks straight, so you keep gently adjusting its placing and then move back to take a look at it again. 

However, it is time for the trailer to stop being babied by us and for it to leave the nest for the real world. We would like to invite all of you to give us feedback. We would like this trailer to continue to change and get better and better. We need ya’lls comments to do that.

We need to look at it with some new eyeballs. YOUR EYEBALLS. What do you see? Hear? Feel? When you watch this thing? Let us know. 

Three: Stories From The Struggle For Girls’ Education from NonFiction Media on Vimeo. 

A note on Vimeo viewing: If you have a fast computer, you can expand the screen by clicking on the little four-outward-pointing-arrows glyph on the lower right of the viewer window. Make sure HD is on and scaling is off. Also, probably best to let the whole thing load in first (hit ‘pause’ if needed). This will give you the best viewing experience (we’re still experimenting with the best way to output stuff for internet viewing).

Only, most people here earn no more than a dollar or two a day. If your job requires you to take a bus, you might have been spending 20 or 30 rupees (67 rupees=$1US) each way for your commute. Does not compute.

And that was before the recent fare hikes. I’m no economist, but I can see this is pretty much an untenable situation.

Strikes are a tremendous burden on the economy, but they are probably just an organic expression of the untenability. Make everything stop, and you can draw attention to a thing that needs to be fixed. It’s clearly not an ideal means of addressing a crisis. But it is just as clear that no ideal means exists.

So, the strikes are a pain in Nepal’s ass and all, but really, this is all about us. And what does this mean for us?

Rickshaws, baby. Human power. No petroleum. 

A Plague of Strikes Upon Us?

Kantipur Report

 

KATHMANDU, June 22 - At least four strikes -  Valley and Nepal bandas — in a month and many more in the making. As if the rest of the country felt left out in the Valley-only transport strike on Saturday called by student unions and transporters’ unions.Starting Sunday, the entire country could be hit by chakka jams and road obstructions if transport entrepreneurs have their way and the law continues to look the other way.   

The transporters and students will have additional company beginning Sunday – petroleum dealers and petro-product carriers, all of them contributing in their own ways to make life more difficult for the man in the street.

Besides, eight student unions affiliated to political parties and transport unions like the Federation of National Transport Entrepreneurs (FNTE), Nepal Petroleum Dealers’ Association (NPDA) and Federation of Nepal Petroleum Supply Entrepreneurs (NPSE) will also join the fray Sunday.

Of late, venting one’s ire on the street has spread like a plague throughout the country. The strike callers are of all varieties – from the aggrieved relatives of those killed in road accidents to transporters to students. It does not matter that a banda or chakka jam announced at the last minute leaves stranded people on their way to work, while setting out on some emergency task, taking someone to hospital, appearing for an exam, traveling the highway, or simply returning home.

The latest round of strikes started with the government announcing a hike in fuel prices and the resultant raise in public transport fares. The government proposed an across the board hike of 25 per cent for public vehicles (but with three-wheelers and micro buses to decide fares through competition) against a 35-45 per cent hike demanded by transport entrepreneurs. Transporters and people employed by them usually park their vehicles astride the roads to prevent all vehicular movement. “If the government fails to address the entrepreneurs’ demands immediately FNTE will halt vehicular movement for an  indefinite period across the country from Sunday,” FNTE warned Saturday.

Students who have been enjoying a 33 per cent fare concession are also up in arms. They now demand a 50 per cent concession. The government’s decision to raise the concession to 43 percent is not enough, the students say. [The 43 percent concession is  also applicable to the Jana Andolan-injured]. Transporters, of course, oppose this additional hike. On Friday, the students vandalized vehicles at some places and burnt tires in front of colleges in the capital. More such spectacles are expected on Sunday.

“We will continue our protests unless our demand for 50 per cent concession in fares is met,” said the eight students unions after a joint meeting, Saturday. Today was the fourth consecutive day of protests by them.

On Saturday, petroleum dealers padlocked Nepal Oil Corporation (NOC) depots across the country. NPDA that had announced nation-wide agitations from Thursday, demanding the the government ease the supply of fuel at the earliest. As a part of the protest, NPDA has announced a halt to the purchase of fuel from NOC depots from Sunday and to the sale and distribution of petroleum products from Monday. This will ensure lengthier queues in front of government-owned fuel supply stations.

Similarly, the Federation of Nepal Petroleum Supply Entrepreneurs (NPSE) on Saturday decided to halt petroleum supply across the country from Sunday. Issuing a statement  NPSE said all tankers supplying petroleum products will stop operating until and unless the government increases fares for tankers. 

With all sides determined to have their own way, get ready to walk to your destination. The sick and elderly travel at their own risk.

But doing this kind of work in unfamiliar settings, across language and cultural divides, well, it requires patience and flexibility and ingenuity. We employed all three of those things, and some extra prayers to the god of documentary filmmaking (who, for lack of a better name, we’re calling “Vishu Al-Gudwillina”)…

And We Found Her!

It was not without some sweat, and some weeping and wailing and some gnashing of teeth.

But we identified a girl who we believe will fill out out our story very nicely, very truly–and more importantly, who very likely will be the next Little Sister scholarship recipient. 

More about K– later. For now though, let me just say: This girl works hard.

No, I mean way harder than you. 

…and (surprise!) we think we’re in love with K–