Berlin Film Festival *Shambhala* ▎ After Pema Left
*Shambhala* शम्भाला (2024)
Director: Min Bahadur Bham
The film *Shambhala* was nominated for the Golden Bear Award in the main competition section of the 74th Berlin International Film Festival.
Born in 1984, Nepalese filmmaker Min Bahadur Bham may not yet be considered a seasoned creator in the film industry.
In 2012, his short film *Bansulli (The Flute)* marked his debut as a director, becoming the first Nepali film ever selected for the Venice Film Festival. In 2015, Bham released his first feature film, *Kalo Pothi (The Black Hen)*, which went on to win the Fedora Award for Best Film in the Venice Critics' Week and was later submitted as Nepal's official entry for the Oscars.
Min Bahadur Bham
Photo: shambhalafilm
In 2024, *Shambhala* (SHAMBHALA), as Min Bahadur Bham's second feature film, made its official debut at the 74th Berlin International Film Festival, marking the first time a Nepali feature film entered the main competition of one of the world's top film festivals. Simultaneously, *Shambhala* became the first South Asian film in over three decades to be selected for the Berlin International Film Festival's main competition. The film also won the UNESCO Cultural Diversity Award and was the first Nepali feature to premiere at the 68th BFI London Film Festival.
Such global recognition is not only a milestone but also a historic moment.
*Shambhala* represents Nepal in the competition for the 97th Academy Awards.
The key visual features Pema and her mother.
Photography: adityabasnet_
Over the past decade, the creative process has been a slow yet steady accumulation for Bham. However, filmmaking is not an indispensable part of his life—only learning is. In interviews, Bham has stated that he can imagine a life without films, but he cannot imagine a life without learning. "Learning is part of life." Even now, despite holding dual master's degrees in Buddhist studies and political science, he is diligently pursuing a Ph.D. in anthropology.
Though Bham's body of work is modest, each of his films has represented Nepal at major international festivals such as Venice, Rotterdam, and Busan. Bham firmly believes that "a truly great film doesn’t need to pander—it resonates with audiences through intuition and emotion, requiring no deliberate compromise or explanation."
Hand-painted poster for the film *Shambhala*
Created by Nepalese artist Pasang Dolpo.
A Mountain Woman's "Journey to Find Her Husband"
The film *Shambhala* tells the story of a woman named Pema from a village in northern Nepal, who is unexpectedly caught in a scandal after her newlywed husband, Tashi, leaves home for business. When rumors reach Tashi, he grows suspicious of his pregnant wife's fidelity and, as punishment, decides to distance himself from her—even as Pema desperately needs her husband's companionship, or at least a word of comfort. To prove her innocence to Tashi and those around her, Pema chooses to leave home. Defiantly, she embarks on a long and arduous journey across mountains and rivers to find her husband. As her journey nears its end, after enduring physical and emotional struggles and deep introspection, Pema attains profound realization and inner peace.
Film stills
As the film’s title reveals its core theme—*Shambhala*—this term, drawn from Buddhist scriptures and mythology, describes a utopian realm beyond time and space, filled with joy, wisdom, peace, and spiritual enlightenment. Yet many Eastern and Western scholars and explorers firmly believe Shambhala is a real place, hidden somewhere in the secluded, mist-shrouded Himalayas.
Whether Shambhala represents an ideal or an actual hidden land, one thing is certain: it is deeply connected to a person’s inner spiritual world. Shambhala symbolizes transcendence and awakening—a state of serene, wisdom-filled enlightenment.
Shambhala Mandala, Tibet, 19th century
Image: Rubin Museum of Art
Pema’s journey is not just an escape from the constraints of family and tradition, but also a liberation from the passive role she played in an unbalanced emotional relationship. Through her long and arduous trek, she achieves a awakening of self-awareness, symbolizing her spiritual state as if breaking through countless barriers to finally enter the realm of Shambhala—finding inner peace and happiness amid chaos and suffering.
*Shambhala* portrays not only the intimate emotional journey of a woman named Pema, but also the arduous identity exploration and affirmation of women collectively navigating a traditional social structure.
Film stills
Women as the Earth.
We are no strangers to the analogy between the noble qualities of women and the earth, hence the concept of "Mother Earth." The earth bears and nurtures all life, serving as the source of existence. Despite enduring wind, frost, rain, and snow, it remains silent and selfless, providing endless sustenance.
The resilience, boundless nurturing capacity, and quiet dedication of women resonate deeply with these attributes of the earth. This is especially true in many mountainous regions and ethnic minority communities, where women are not only mothers to their children but also shoulder a series of complex, immense, and burdensome responsibilities—mediating family dynamics, household labor, and cultural transmission. Day after day, year after year, they silently devote themselves to raising children, tilling fields, weaving, and gathering, as if sharing an innate, profound connection with the land itself.
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In the film, the day before her wedding, Pema’s father reminds her to take care of her husband and uphold her family—duties he sees as inherent to her transition from daughter to wife. After building her own family, Pema indeed brings profound change to her husband Tashi’s life. He gratefully tells her that she has breathed vitality into his home. Her presence shines like radiant sunlight, filling those around her with an undeniable sense of brightness and warmth.
Yet, with this comes a paradox: when such virtues become deeply embedded in the mundane routines of daily life, their social, cultural, and spiritual contributions often fade into invisibility, taken for granted. The precious creativity born from the depths of their being no longer receives due respect; their wisdom goes unnoticed and unheard. Over time, this erasure solidifies into an unquestioned tradition.
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From Dependence to Self-Reliance.
The story of the film *Shambhala* unfolds against this unique cultural backdrop. Pema’s village still practices the ancient marital tradition of polyandry (one wife with multiple husbands). Under this system, women have historically had little freedom to choose their marriages—especially in fraternal polyandrous households, where a woman is seen as "married to the entire family" rather than to individual partners.
In the film, Pema’s household includes three brothers: Tashi, Karma, and Dawa. For the youngest, Dawa, she assumes a maternal role. With Karma, who became a monk in childhood, their relationship is confined by religious vows, limited to spiritual understanding and solace. Among the three brothers, only Tashi appears to be her true husband in the conventional sense. Yet, Pema must still navigate the delicate emotional dynamics with each man, balancing them with wisdom and tact.
Pema and Dawa.
Pema and Karma.
Pema and Tashi.
In modern times, with economic development and the influence of external cultures, this centuries-old marital tradition in certain Himalayan regions has begun to face challenges. The expansion of education and employment opportunities, in particular, has enabled women to exercise greater independence in choosing their marriages. Shifts in economic structures and heightened awareness of women's rights have led younger generations to increasingly favor autonomous marital decisions.
Pema once deeply loved her husband, Tashi. However, when a crisis of trust arises amid spreading rumors, she realizes that the emotional bond she relied on and cherished takes a backseat to societal judgment and family reputation in Tashi’s eyes—despite their once-profound connection. She comes to understand her subordinate position in the relationship. The harsh, unyielding reality leaves Pema heartbroken, echoing the film’s subtitle: for her, this is unmistakably *A Year of Cold*.
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The passive acceptance of her subordinate role has begun to be questioned. Pema realizes she can no longer rely on the emotional security she once unquestioningly believed another person could provide. She must seek her true self, first becoming an independent individual who defines her own identity rather than passively accepting so-called fate. She must choose her own path to pursue genuine happiness.
The hope of transcending her plight becomes the psychological and motivational foundation for Pema’s departure. The imbalance in her emotional relationship ultimately sparks her awakening, and the transition from dependence to independence unfolds naturally in this context.
Pema Artist: Aziz Bhujel
Image: shambhalafilm
After Pema Left
This crisis of distrust in a relationship leading to another's awakening may inevitably evoke thoughts of the famous "Nora's departure." In Ibsen's play A Doll's House, when conflict arises, Nora realizes her husband cares only about his social standing, not her feelings or sacrifices. She recognizes she has never truly been an independent individual, and the awakened Nora ultimately chooses to leave her family to seek her true self.
In the film, the director leaves Pema’s fate ambiguous. We see only three consecutive shots offering subtle hints: in a dimly lit dream, Pema glimpses her deceased teacher behind fluttering prayer flags, gently touching his smiling face as she whispers "Shambhala" in her heart. The next scene shows a dark river at dawn—Pema’s child has been born, but it is Karma, the one who truly understands her, who holds the baby. Pema herself is nowhere to be seen. The final frame closes on a blooming pink lotus.
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We know nothing of Pema’s life after her journey ends. Whether her departure brings true liberation or whether she can find new belonging beyond the confines of society remains a mystery. Yet through these poetic, elusive hints, we glimpse a possibility—that a woman can be like the earth, enduring storms and bearing the weight of time, yet also like the wind, flowing freely.
Pema Artist: Thupten Lama
Image: shambhalafilm
Ethnographic Cinematic Realism
The narrative style of *Shambhala* embodies a return to simplicity and purity. While the film centers on the love story of a Tibetan woman in a polyandrous marriage, it also meticulously depicts the rich customs of Himalayan mountain life—weddings, celebrations, horse races, farming, trade journeys, rituals—and more. Through these vibrant cultural elements, it constructs a uniquely immersive aesthetic experience.
Behind the Scenes of the Film.
Image: shambhalafilm
In interviews, Bham once said, "The way of life in the high mountains is slow and profound, like meditation. People are deeply interconnected—each individual forms a symbiotic ecosystem with the entire village, the climate, the mountains, the livestock, and the land." This perspective ultimately led Bham to employ extensive long takes and a meditative narrative pace to capture this delicate rhythm. Such storytelling, where emotions are woven into the landscape, allows the audience to appreciate the film’s visual beauty while experiencing subtler, more layered, and profound emotional depth.
Film stills
There is no doubt that *Shambhala* is a work of meticulous cinematic visual aesthetics. Its ethnographic realism immerses viewers in the natural landscapes and cultural atmosphere of the Himalayan region. The film’s artistic value lies not only in telling the story of a mountain woman navigating self-discovery and personal emotions within a specific social structure but also in using this narrative to reveal a way of life shaped by unique cultural contexts. It resonates with audiences on sensory, emotional, and intellectual levels alike.
Film stills
Poetic Realism
In the 1930s, influenced by 19th-century literature, France saw the emergence and popularity of a cinematic movement known as "Poetic Realism." This artistic style emphasized portraying the hardships and sorrows of real life through poetic and lyrical means, often focusing on the tragedies and struggles of ordinary people. It highlighted the literary power of film while offering philosophical undertones. By presenting reality in an idealized, dreamlike yet beautiful manner, it captured the faint glimmers of hope and beauty hidden behind life's suffering.
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In the film *Shambhala*, we experience the aesthetic qualities of this poetic realism through a series of delicate and authentic portrayals of landscapes and emotions. What emerges is an emotional depth and tension akin to still waters running deep, allowing us to intimately sense the subtle fluctuations of the characters' inner feelings even in the most unassuming moments. The themes of the story are not conveyed solely through dialogue or direct dramatic conflict but are instead quietly woven into the fragments of daily life, becoming a restrained yet visually potent artistic expression.
A particularly emblematic example is the numerous singing sequences featuring Pema and the different men she is married to. These scenes reveal that singing is not confined to solemn, ritualistic occasions but flows freely with human emotions—whether joy, confusion, or pain, it serves as a perfectly natural outlet. Pema instinctively expresses her hidden thoughts through this innocent and understated form of articulation.
However, these songs are not presented with explicit subtitles in the film, allowing the melodies to flow naturally and resonate with each viewer. Director Bham addressed this in interviews, explaining that, in his view, "Tibetan folk songs are more like incantations or prayers than ordinary songs in the conventional sense. Omitting subtitles is a gesture of respect for these extraordinary vocal expressions, as they carry the innermost wishes of people, not mere narratives." Bham emphasized that this choice does not underestimate the audience but instead invites them to "understand through feeling, not dissect through translation." This, in fact, is the ideal way to experience the beauty of music.
As Bham stated in the interview, Shambhala is a film about "journeys." He believes every individual’s life journey is long—even endless.
Awakened Pema Artist: Sunil Harijan
Image: shambhalafilm
