Days of Himalaya Documentaries

SYNOPSIS

As a modern day revolution ignites, the lives of three young girls who are worshipped as gods in the Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal unfolds. This is the real Golden Child.

From the producers of David LaChapelle’s Oscar Shortlisted RIZE and with a remarkable soundtrack by the critically acclaimed Nitin Sawhney, Living Goddess begins as a sublime elegy to a private world of ritual, devotion and childish mischief. With unprecedented access to this mix of Tantric tradition of blood sacrifices, secret rituals and toy mobile phones we see the lives of these remarkable girls collide irreversibly with the modern world.

Their story turns epic as an ancient prophecy unfolds. An out-of-touch and ruthless King who survived the notorious palace massacre of 2001 wrests power for himself as a Maoist led civil war rages in the mountains. Defying the King, ordinary people take to the streets demanding freedom, only to be confronted by the might of the King’s army. A year long, bloody revolution ensues.

Caught in a whirlwind struggle for power, the story unfolds through the eyes of the child-gods – a worldview shaped by omens and portents. The filmmakers were allowed privileged access to the private rituals and daily life of this historic tradition witnessing the violent struggle for democracy slowly imposing itself on this ancient way of life.

This exceptional directorial debut by Ishbel Whitaker, and beautifully filmed by Marc Hawker is a compelling, intimate story of innocence and courage that is playful, spiritual and unnervingly contemporary.

CRITICAL ACCLAIM FOR LIVING GODDESS TX OM MORE4

The Daily Telegraph, April 16th 2008. Sam Richards

True stories: Living Goddess (More 4) was a portrait of the troubled Himalayan country of Nepal, as seen through the eyes of one of it’s most exalted, yet powerless citizens. Most parents think their own children are little angels, but since infancy Sajani Shakya had been considered a goddess to a whole people: thought to be the embodiment of Taleju, the Hindu goddess of creation and destruction. In this vivid film we saw the eight year old Sajani sitting on her throne, toying with a mobile phone, as worshippers queued up to leave gifts A “Living goddess”, or Kumari holds her role until puberty and is selected by Nepal’s religious elite in a process not unlike a Little Miss Sunshine pageant. Sajani’s task was to transmit Taleju’s blessings to the populace. and to guide the King in times of trouble. When the countries violent Maoist insurgency came to a head in 2005, however, Sajani became a political pawn As his forebears had done, King Gyanendra exploited the kumari’s presence to give his reign the aura of divinity. yet when his decisions included ordering riot police to batter unarmed demonstrators, we saw how Sajani’s humble parents, initially honoured by her deification, became anxious about the association. Although the film focused on the events of this year, it is worth noting that now, aged 11, and with Nepal poised to become a secular republic, Sajani has resigned her role early. Already tired of being a goddess, she wants to become a documentary filmmaker.

The Daily Telegraph, 12th April 2008. Simon Horsford

Living Goddess offers a rich and gorgeously photographed view of a Nepalese world where, according to Hindu/ Buddhist tradition, three young girls are worshipped as living goddesses. The youngest, Sajani, is just 10, having been chosen by the high priest for been “blessed with the 32 perfections”. When Sajani is not been feted by worshippers and attending animal sacrifices, she’s just like any other child, playing with friends and having tea parties. Ishbel Whitaker’s film sets religion and the relative innocence of Sajani’s world against a violent Maoist - led civil war that rages on the streets as Nepalese demonstrators confront the police and demand more freedom from their king.

The Guardian, 12th April 2008. Andrew Mueller

In Nepal’s Kathmandu valley a clique of young female virgins are worshipped as goddesses. One is Sajani, who spends much of her time being generally grovelled to by adults (including her own mother, which can’t be good) who believe that she is an incarnation of Taleju - a local proxy of the Hindu deity Kali. Ishbel Whitaker’s beautiful, languid film skilfully places the ancient superstitions vested in sajani against the upheavals of modern - day Nepal, plagued by a civil war with Maoist insurgents and the domestic tumults of a royal family that Shakespere wouldn’t have dared invent.

Time out, 10th April 2008. Phil Harrison

Sometimes, if a filmmaker is lucky, a story takes on it’s own life. This happened to Ishbel Whitaker and Marc Hawker who were in Nepal making an intimate documentary about the strange cloistered life of Sajani Shakya, a nine year old girl who was deemed to be in posesion of “32 Divinities” and was worshipped as a Goddess by Hindus and Buddhists alike. However, during the coarse of filming, they found themselves overtaken by events and in the middle of a revolution, as a popular uprising to remove the country’s autocratic king began. Thus, peculiar, slightly disturbing footage of a tiny girl offering blessings to prostrate adults is intercut with visceral, intense footage of street protests, baton charges and savage beatings. the film isn’t without longeurs, but has a cumulative power, not to mention a distinct sense of unpredictability as it becomes apparent that events are spiralling out of control.

The Independent, 12th April 2008. Gerard Gilbert

Ishbel Whitaker’s striking documentary enters the secret world of Nepal’s kumaris, or living goddesses the backdrop of this private world of devotion to prepubescent virgins is the Maoist - led civil war raging in the country, seen here through the eyes of these child deities.

The Observer, 13th April 2008. Ian Johns

This lushly shot film - all sumtuous reds, flickering candles and rituals to a Nitin Sawhney score - explores the Nepalese worship of young girls as the incarnation of the goddess kali. As one of the girls featured here observes, it can be a bit confusing: ‘We are Buddhist girls, posesed by a Hindu goddess”. Successful selection requires 32 attributes of perfection, including the right pitch of voice, and can lead to a secluded life of ceremonial duties. but what happens to the girls after puberty and their days as a deity? And where does this tradition stand amid the continuing Maoist insurgency against Nepal’s despotic King?