Like the documentaries where he is mostly off-screen, Kesang Tseten in person is also self-effacing. In his award-winning films like We Corner People, In Search of the Riyal or Who Will be a Gurkha, Tseten lets the protagonists speak for themselves.
He is now putting finishing touches on two new films: one about people in remote corners of the Himalaya, and another profiling Nepalis in the heart of New York.
Like his <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Kesang-Tseten-documentary-on-Dor-Bahadur-Bista,2176">other work</a>, both films are about people and places in transition. The technique is the same: following characters as they go about their everyday lives. The director’s inputs are evident only in the editing.
Tseten’s trademark is his ability to deliver the most impact while keeping himself in the background: silent but not absent.&nbsp;
His documentary, Trembling Mountain, was an intimate portrayal of the survivors of the earthquake-avalanche in Langtang in 2015. In this and his other films, Tseten dives right in, showing the raw reality of life from the perspective of those most affected by calamities, conflict, injustices or neglect.
The film-making has a light touch, and this allows the director to deliver the message without being prescriptive or polemical, and ultimately brings out the stories of survival and inner strength of individuals in communities facing wrenching change.
“Filmmaking is a powerful tool. It is more than just collecting information and stating facts, it captures emotions, allowing us an in-depth look,” says Tseten, who now lives in Berne.
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/here-now/lights-camera-action-in-nepal">Lights, Camera, Action in Nepal</a>, Ashish Dhakal
<a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/news.php?id=13035">We Corner People</a> is a simple story of villagers in Rasuwa and a bridge they built. As Stacy Leigh Pigg of Simon Fraser University noted in a review: ‘Kesang Tseten’s decidedly non-preachy documentary is a subtle, multi-dimensional film telling the story of the bridge, not as a monumental or heroic achievement, but as an event that occurs within a local social history … told entirely without romance, false egalitarianism, or teleological overtones.’&nbsp;
<div class="embed-block"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/QrwfCzrb8mQ" title="YouTube video player" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" allowfullscreen></iframe></div>
One of Tseten's two new documentaries, Diversity Plaza, about the Nepali immigrant community in Jackson Heights in New York follows the same technique. This ‘unprompted’ style is modelled after American filmmaker Frederick Wiseman.
“There is no wrong or right technique. In Trembling Mountain we had to ask questions of the survivors in Langtang, there were no houses standing to document, we didn't also want to be voyeurs,” he says.
But in In Search of the Riyal there is no script, and the director had no idea what would happen as he filmed. He explains: “We just followed the characters as things happened to them, an example of show, don't tell.”
A lot goes into how the crew also approaches the people being filmed. Tseten chooses to keep it simple, and let them know what they are doing without making a big deal out of it.&nbsp;
He does not prompt the characters to act a certain way, and this is reflected in the final cut where they are natural, and not at all camera-conscious.
Tseten's newest documentary is on the <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/banner/bon-voyage">Bön Po</a>, the animist faith of Nepal’s trans-Himalayan region that predates Buddhism. The central character is a 75-year-old Lama in Lubra of Lower Mustang.&nbsp;
Read also: <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/news/documenting-the-subcontinent-for-a-generation">Documenting the Subcontinent for a generation</a>, Aria Shree Parasai
“He is waiting for his son to return to continue in the family line, but his son is a sushi chef in New York who does not seem all that eager to return,” adds Tseten.
Lubra, a village of 15 families entirely Bön, is located near a river that has seen climate change-induced glacial floods.
“The film is an attempt to capture this rugged region, its subsistence way of life and fragile balance with nature in the face of modernity,” adds Tseten.&nbsp;
It was while he was in New York to persuade the son of the Lubra monk to be filmed for the Bön Po film that Tseten heard about Diversity Plaza in New York, with its strong Nepali presence. It was a place he was familiar with ever since he was a college student at Columbia University in the 1980s.
“Diversity Plaza is like Thamel. People are empowered and restaurants are filled with our own people,” adds Tseten, who struggled to fund the film and &nbsp;ended up paying his own way.
However glamorous the world of documentary filmmaking may seem, it is a hard slog, money is &nbsp;hard to find. And once a film is made, there is usually no market for them because audiences do not readily pay to watch documentaries.
So what motivated him? Tseten replies with characteristic modesty: “I do it because I’m passionate about it. I want to tell stories. But be warned, it is a full-time commitment.”
Read also: <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Manakamana-review-David-Gellner,1949">How not to make a documentary</a>, David N Gellner

Sonia Awale

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Kesang Tseten is still silent, but not absent

<figure><img width="1400" height="2100" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb619c7e80680e0802c0jpeg.jpg" alt=""/><figcaption>All photos: ALESSANDRA SILVER </figcaption></figure>Ever since she witnessed the violent disintegration of her country, and after fleeing war-torn Bosnia at the age of 17, Irena Taskovski has used the medium of film to promote peace and understanding between cultures. She graduated from the Prague Film Academy (FAMU) and later the National Film and Television School outside London, and since has been helping produce and distribute many award-winning films, including Kesang Tseten’s 2012 documentary Who Will be a Gurkha about the recruitment process in Pokhara.Taskovski’s focus has been to encourage authentic local stories told through non-fiction films like <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6721756/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6721756/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNH2vIxZEm8XYAB2FBlj_g6_2ETYlw">Bruce Lee and the Outlaw</a> about the dark underbelly of Bucharest, or following children in Nepal reconnecting with the land of their birth <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7006248/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7006248/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHfI4noh35iZ8T9VmYeIO79E0fvPA">Children of the Snow Land</a>. Taskovski will be guiding a series of four masterclasses on film production at Nepal’s <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pamefestival/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/pamefestival/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHqW8lu9Merk1nZ6Rwr3gexMj12Bw">Pame Film and Music Festival 5-8 November</a> which has been showcasing independent film-makers from Nepal and abroad for the past four years. The 2020 edition was forced to go virtual, and screened 30 short, feature and documentary films from nine countries, as well as conducting online training and masterclasses. “From an early age, I was interested in doing something related to the creative arts,” Irena told us long-distance via WhatsApp. She says she eventually found her true calling in film production after discovering that acting was not the right fit. With a lot of moving parts, film production was challenging and exciting because it supported all others kinds of professions in a film.  <img width="2100" height="1400" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb649c7e80680e0802c1jpeg.jpg" alt="">Asked about doing the Pame masterclasses, Taskovski says: “With me things always work out.”  It was the explosive fragmentation of her homeland, Bosnia, that made Taskovski determined to give back to society, and work towards human understanding and tolerance through film.  “I was even more inspired to dedicate my life to work which will bring peace and understanding among different cultures,” says the producer who founded <a href="https://www.taskovskifilms.com/film/the-golden-thread/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.taskovskifilms.com/film/the-golden-thread/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHjZVAgQ8Unilc-RGZ1enehit4n1g">Taskovski Films</a> 20 years ago. This philosophy has promoted her to help produce films with cross boundary themes, and share powerful messages of survival and struggle. Her films have ranged from North America, Europe, and Asia, including Nepal. Taskovski’s films have been screened at more than 1,000 festivals worldwide in the past two decades, including the Berlin International Film Festival, IDFA, Sheffield International Documentary Festival among many others. The 2004 documentary <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402906/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0402906/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFFD4zT2zSugUeOIx5P-Fe3cDdK8w">Czech Dream</a>, a thought-provoking documentary on how marketing campaigns are manipulating people, was awarded the best non-fiction film at Michael Moore’s film festival in 2005.  More than anything, she sees films promoting not just art but a larger cause. Films could be a way to connect cultures, to support societies, help overcome differences and dispel fears, she says. “We as human beings on this planet are meant to live together, embrace diversity in human unity and meant to take care of the planet,” says Taskovski, “film is a tool to make our societies live in peace.”  Her passion for film has meant pushing boundaries in search for bold ideas, discovering new talent and authorial stories. And that has come with its rewards. Taskovski Films now represents films of Oscar nominees like of Petra Costa, Tilda Swinton, Javier Bardem, Radu Jude, Helena Trestikova among many other award-winning directors.  "You need to be smart and think about how one can make the authentic local story have a universal message so that people in different countries can also benefit from it,” says Taskovski who recently wrapped up co-producing <a href="https://www.taskovskifilms.com/film/the-golden-thread/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.taskovskifilms.com/film/the-golden-thread/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348679771000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE2O4Pn_y489q4TMd1_oeYR3G6xMw">The Golden Thread by Indian filmmaker Nistha Jain</a>.   Asked about the message she will be imparting at the Pame masterclass next month, Paskovksi says: “The way to succeed in life, as in filmmaking, is to believe in everything you really really want and put all your intentions into it. Everything in life is possible.” <img width="640" height="905" src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109171152/636bdb689c7e80680e0802c2jpeg.jpg" alt="">Irena Taskovski will be conducting a series of four masterclasses from 5 to 8 November 2020. For more information visit <a href="https://www.facebook.com/pamefestival/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.facebook.com/pamefestival/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1603348688270000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHqW8lu9Merk1nZ6Rwr3gexMj12Bw">Pame Festival of Film and Music’s Facebook page</a>. The virtual classes are being organised by Pame Festival with Taskovski Films and The Film School Pokhara and is made possible by British Council Nepal and the Nepal Film Development Board.

Irena Taskovski virtually in Nepal

It hit me like a shock wave. The world stopped, leaving me completely alone and lost.It was the morning of the 15 June, 2017. “Your liver has developed lesions, the markings of a cancer,” said the doctor in a solemn voice. “You will need a liver transplant if you want to survive.”Finally, I could speak. “How much would that cost?” I asked. He answered my question with a question of his own: “Do you have 40 lakhs?”I am from the <a href="https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/life-times/In-the-Mountain,181" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/life-times/In-the-Mountain,181&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNF57N9j1saKeGZu4RJOOUvu2PRdJQ">Tsum Valley</a>, and the first generation from my family that went to school. I have always wanted to be an agent of positive change in my society and country, and to build a better future for the sacred valley where I was born.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b749c7e80680e06b29djpeg.jpg" alt="" width="684" height="618"/><figcaption>Rinzin Norbu Lama on documentary filming assignment in 2013.</figcaption></figure><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tsum-valley-even-more-difficult-reach-with-earthquake-and-monsoon,2441" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tsum-valley-even-more-difficult-reach-with-earthquake-and-monsoon,2441&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHgEPkGm_gmS6O31vSt6MYPsc6fDQ">During 2015 earthquake</a>, I helped coordinate <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2015/06/14/its-all-logistics/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/blogs/mycity/2015/06/14/its-all-logistics/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNE1uqcCvP51rL9vfEtQ_KlZNOWx1A">rescue and relief services and provide essential supplies</a> to remote Tsum Nubri communities. That is why in 2017 I was nominated by the Naya Shakti Party as a candidate for mayor for my rural municipality in Tsum. Campaigning was not easy, I had to walk up and down the mountains to meet constituents, we ate whatever we found, and slept wherever we could.For years, I made a living guiding trekkers through the remote mountains of my beyul. They would often be out of breath climbing the high trails, but I was never exhausted myself. The campaigning should have made me more fit, but I felt strangely weak. Something was not right with my body.After the elections, I walked four days to reach Kathmandu to see my doctor. I had to find a matching organ donor. And where would I find Rs4 million?From Kathmandu, the news of the diagnosis spread through my village. A young monk from Tsum sent me a message, offering to donate a lobe of his liver. With his act of kindness came hope, encouragement, and a raised possibility that I might make it.Unfortunately, he was not a compatible match. A friend offered. Then another. Indeed, I found out there are many kind and selfless people out there, and felt honoured and grateful for their bodhichitta compassion.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b769c7e80680e06b29ejpeg.jpg" alt="" width="406" height="583"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>But I learnt that Nepal’s law only allowed close relatives to be organ  donors. This made it next to impossible for me to have a life-saving operation in my own country. But then a miracle happened.My own brother, a Buddhist Lama came forward as a donor and he was a match. This man with a pure and compassionate heart offered to save my life by giving me a part of his.Given the stage of my disease, it was not possible to have the surgery in Nepal, and I had to go to India. But first, I had to make it through all the government red tape. It took three weeks to first prove my citizenship, then prepare and present documents to the district office and its health department. I had to obtain a no objection letter from the medical board, and then collect documents from the Ministry of Health, Foreign Affairs, and the Embassy of Nepal in New Delhi.In the meantime, my liver was deteriorating. Then there was the issue about money. My godfather and mother, who once funded my education in Kathmandu, stepped in once more to raise the money to pay for my medical costs.Through my <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/liver-transplant-for-rinzin-lama" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gofundme.com/f/liver-transplant-for-rinzin-lama&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFtT23NdKE1vN88wjed6vmbPxZutA">go-fund me campaign</a>, people from all walks of life supported me emotionally and financially, making my transplant possible. It reinforces my belief that life is all about love and compassion.I live near Swayambhu, and I can feel the spiritual energy of the shrine every day. While in India for the treatment, I took the 10 hour journey to Dharmasala and met His Holiness the Dalai Lama. His words “I will bless you and pray for you” lifted my spirits, making me feel physically stronger. His personal <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/traditional-tibetan-medicine-gets-global-following-but-not-government-support,2604" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/traditional-tibetan-medicine-gets-global-following-but-not-government-support,2604&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHg3rlGDvRml-ny7E9j0xjQq0NEaQ">Amchi</a> gave me traditional medicine using Sowa-Rigpa.<figure><img src="https://superdesk-pro-c.s3.amazonaws.com/sd-nepalitimes/20221109121112/636b8b789c7e80680e06b29fjpeg.jpg" alt="" width="541" height="528"><figcaption> </figcaption></figure>It has been a year and a half now since my transplant. But in March, I had symptoms of jaundice which meant my liver was not functioning as it should. On the day after Nepal went into COVID-19 lockdown, I was admitted into Teaching Hospital.I was under high immune suppression medication, but was kept in the Emergency Room for six hours, at risk of opportunistic infections. In the evening they sent me to a COVID-19 isolation room even though I had not been tested, and had no fever or symptoms. A COVID-19 patient was nearby, coughing.After complaining to the nurse and doctor-in-charge, they finally moved me to a general ward. There is no teamwork in this hospital, the level of care was poor and ad hoc. The patient next to me had TB. Soon enough, I contracted pneumonia. I was rescued from the hospital just in time, and am recovering at the home of my American god-parents near Kathmandu.Among the many lessons I have learnt from my ordeal is that Nepal needs to revise its laws. Many patients and their families are already struggling with their illness and lack of money, the least the state can do is make the paperwork easier.The law about limiting organ donors to immediate family was made to prevent commercial organ trade, but what if there are willing donors who are not family, like in my case?It is also the responsibility of the state to make transplants affordable and accessible. I wish <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/prime-ministers-health-condition-under-wraps/" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.nepalitimes.com/latest/prime-ministers-health-condition-under-wraps/&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFMA3h9h_QAz0z4zvm0Nb1MB_mWKQ">Prime Minister K P Oli a speedy recovery</a> from his second kidney transplant, but he may not be aware of how difficult it is to navigate the bureaucracy for a transplant in this country.I do not want others to go through what I did. The disease is bad enough, but for ordinary people like us everything is made much more difficult. The government needs to amend its laws and policies to allow affordable transplants in state-of-the-art facilities, so Nepalis do not have to go abroad. It would save costs for patient families, and prevent large amounts of money from leaving the country.There are many who emotionally, physically and financially helped me through this process, and I cannot thank them enough. Especially my soulmate Chand, who left her job and family to be with me in Delhi. I pray for the long life of all of these incredibly generous people. They have given me a ray of hope as I experience and explore the impermanence of life. It has no beginning and no end. Our body is a host and the soul lives on forever.Rinzin Norbu Lama is a documentary filmmaker and youth politician from Samajbadi Party Nepal. <a href="https://www.gofundme.com/f/liver-transplant-for-rinzin-lama" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.gofundme.com/f/liver-transplant-for-rinzin-lama&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNFtT23NdKE1vN88wjed6vmbPxZutA">https://www.gofundme.com/f/liver-transplant-for-rinzin-lama</a>Read also: <a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tsum-valley-even-more-difficult-reach-with-earthquake-and-monsoon,2441" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/nation/Tsum-valley-even-more-difficult-reach-with-earthquake-and-monsoon,2441&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHgEPkGm_gmS6O31vSt6MYPsc6fDQ">Even more secluded sanctuary by Rinzin Norbu Lama</a><a href="http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Nepali-Times-Buzz-Yarsagumba-Tsum-Valley,726" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=http://archive.nepalitimes.com/article/Nepali-Times-Buzz/Nepali-Times-Buzz-Yarsagumba-Tsum-Valley,726&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1586838472024000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHMscBazr3REpVJNfd85WJlreqmDw">One day in the life of Mingmar by Rinzin Norbu Lama</a>

Living with cancer during the coronavirus

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