"I can't teach how to build houses, yoga or English, so I couldn't resist the offer to create a social documentary in Nepal about the volunteers of the Volunteers Initiative Nepal organization and the people they support," says film and commercial director Šarūnas Mikulskis. Šarūnas put his incredible experience and acquaintance with mountain and jungle people into the documentary film "Simple Dreams". The premiere of the film at the "Multikino" cinema - already tomorrow, Tuesday, at 19 o'clock.
You went to Nepal without a film camera, having decided to film with a camera. This way of storytelling brings the audience even closer to the country you are talking about and its people.
I had neither the time nor the financial means to prepare for filming - I could not analyze Nepal's current affairs in detail, choose the characters, and develop the theme sharply. I had to borrow a filming camera, lenses and embark on a complete adventure. However, the endless desire to create something unique led forward. I think if you want to get to know people, genre and technique are important, but really secondary. The technique I had allowed me to create a rough, sketchy, but very honest and open film. Especially since I was working completely alone. When I brought the material back to Lithuania, I was a little surprised - in some places where the sun was constantly shining, I even managed to focus.
We have seen many documentaries about the nature of Nepal, but there are not many authentic stories about the people. What was so surprising about the families you lived in?
The earthquake that struck Nepal three years ago left about half a million people homeless and destroyed the already meager infrastructure. Many Nepalese still live in temporary sheds, they do not have the funds to rebuild their homes. Despite this, even the poorest people will warmly accept and offer what they eat. Nepalese people are like a big family, wherever they go, they immediately find acquaintances who feel obliged to help in one way or another or at least talk to them. If the bus gets stuck in a narrow street, it will not move until the driver talks to acquaintances who happened to be there.
Nepalese life is governed by extremely strong caste traditions. Representatives of Dalits, the lowest caste, for example, cannot argue, visit a temple where members of higher castes pray. It is difficult to talk about women's rights in this country - the majority of women do not really know what to do with those rights. Imagine, during menstruation, they cannot show themselves in the kitchen, and in more remote provinces they have to stay away from home altogether, living in huts in the mountains or in the jungle. Women are free labor and it is very difficult to estimate when customs will change. When volunteers teach English to women in the province, their main concern is whether they will be able to use their English on Facebook. Neither was interested in whether language could be useful for worldview or knowledge.
It is not easy to open up to a stranger, and even a newcomer. How did you manage to talk to the Nepalese? How long did it take for him to trust you?
My goal was to infiltrate the local community, to become as close to a local as possible. It took about a couple of days, sometimes longer. I used to sit with them, drink tea, the camera was lying nearby, I didn't use it. Then, little by little, I started filming - like myself, like them... The real confidence came when I really helped them. They really appreciate that you don't just talk, you do.
Filming women was much more difficult. Tradition dictates that women hardly interact with men. Although... One day when I was bathing in the only public shower in the mountain village, the women who had gathered to wash the clothes burst out laughing. They had never seen such "cheese" before, and their shyness ran away like water...
You yourself are no stranger to Buddhist philosophy. Do religious beliefs allow you to get even closer to the local people?
Religions coexist amicably in Nepal. According to the Nepalese, everything originates from Shiva: hundreds of divine incarnations, Buddha, Jesus, Mahomet. In my youth, I was very interested in Hinduism, this knowledge was even very useful, the locals allowed me to participate in Hindu religious rites - sacrifices. To tell the truth, there are places in Nepal where you can feel the metaphysical energy very strongly. So, because of all the evil, I greeted the deities myself.
You have come very close to a place that can be called between life and death. Has cremation really turned out to be a spiritual ritual?
Spirituality is hard for me to judge. This is a long and very serious process for the people closest to the deceased. They do not seek to get rid of the deceased as soon as possible, but to forget him as soon as possible. On the contrary, the rituals and thoughts of the living help him in his afterlife journey throughout the year.
And yet, the spirituality of the Nepalis goes somewhere when they see rupees. Were there paid interviews?
Being in those lands inevitably paid for the tourist spirituality in rupees. If you want to take a picture with a sadhu, pay. Someone tells you about the temple you are looking at without being asked in English - pay. You looked at a lying person without legs - pay too. But when you know how to act in such cases, nothing terrible happens. And it is necessary to support the poor.
Sometimes it seems like you did the craziest things to get one shot or another. Were there places in Nepal where you felt in danger?
One of the more interesting experiences is a bus ride through the mountains. An overgrown boy hangs on the outside of the bus, holding on to the door handle. It knocks on the body of the bus if the wheel gets too dangerously close to the edge of a 2 km high cliff. The bus is driven by, in our eyes, complete milk-mouths, shouting joyfully every time when a blind mountain bend is overcome almost without stopping. Traveling by motorcycle at an altitude of 3,5 kilometers was not easy either, one side of the mountain is hot, the other is ice... You see, a local man with a yak is whistling, and he moves faster than you, pushing the motorcycle over the rocks...
What transport did you use to travel around Nepal?
On foot, by motorcycle and by bus. On the way back to the airport, the good Nepalese took a ride in an Indian jeep.
How did the locals treat you when you stayed in a local's house instead of a hotel?
I stayed with my friend Anil, who translated for me and became a loyal companion. The locals were surprised that I became like a local so quickly - I ate food with my hands, preferably water without touching the neck of the bottle, participated in ceremonies, was interested in their traditions, religion, way of life and most importantly - respected them.
Your household was unenviable for a Westerner. How quickly can you forget the inconvenience?
I was determined that the trip would not be comfortable, I was driven forward by a specific goal - to shoot as much material for the film as possible in a relatively short time. There was no time to rest, the days were numbered. My problematic back lay on the boards for about 4 days and... it got better, the pain disappeared. The only thing I really missed after a month was a hot shower. After returning from the mountains, I stood under warm water for an hour in the Kathmandu hotel shower and could not turn on the tap. A waste…
What did you learn about yourself on this trip?
I was interested in finding out how much I can adapt to external conditions, a foreign culture, what are the limits of my comfort. Bathing in a public mountain shower with the screams of local women was an interesting, I would say even intimate experience. But only for the first time. Later you get used to it and you could probably take a shower in the central square of the city. Or, putting urbanism aside, participate in religious ceremonies where animals are sacrificed all day and then eaten.
I also learned that I am doing something that I really like and that I have the necessary skills for it. By the way, this is also important to know.
Which movie story evoked the most emotions for you?
Although directors are advised not to become too friendly with the people you film, it happens inevitably and you start to worry about their fates. My main character, Arun, needs a second kidney transplant while crying. The state does not cover such costs. To give you a better idea of health care in Nepal, there are about 4 patients per doctor. There are few hospitals, especially in the periphery. Arun, just returned after 6 years of service in the army, found out that both his kidneys were unhealthy. If it had happened while serving in the army, he would have been treated at the expense of the state. Now Arun lives stoically with his illness, goes to pray at a Christian church on weekends and occasionally asks how my film is progressing. Very often my thoughts are with his family, in that temporary shed.
What is the most important message you are sending to those who will watch your film?
To be happy, as much as possible, with your life, relatives, friends. We underestimate how much we have - compared to the Nepalese, we live in absolute excess. It's strange that we still manage to complain. We just don't have the Himalayas, and this is already a problem.
The premiere of Šarūnas Mikulskis's film "Simple dreams" in the "Multikino" cinema is already tomorrow, Tuesday, at 19 p.m. The idea and production of the film was helped by the production company "Bro Production", which creates TV commercials, artistic and documentary films.
