Docked

I think of myself as an accidental documentarian. I was traveling in Nepal when I stumbled upon the subject of my first documentary. I was in a Tibetan refugee camp, asking an old Tibetan Lhapa (shaman) about his healing practice. And he kept responding 'Why isn't anyone recording this...at the time of my death, it will cease to be'. So I returned home, taught myself how to use camera and sound equipment and returned the following year...filming both that old man and two other old Lhapas in the same refugee camp whose ancient healing traditions were also in danger of extinction. Seven years later, Fate of the Lhapa...a feature length documentary...premiered at the Maui International Film Festival and for two years after that, chugged its way around the world doing the film festival circuit. And I thought I was done. Until I read an article in the Salt Lake Tribune about sheepherders who are being brought into the U. S. on Department of Labor temporary visas and being treated like indentured servants....and that a small number of the sheepherders were coming from Nepal. Arrgh...another fire in the belly. I started traveling and filming with two human rights activists. We never did find the Nepali sheepherders...but on my first venture out, met Lionel and filmed him over the course of his three-year contract. I film in the style of cinema vérité…immersing myself with the subject and subjects and following the story wherever it leads me without a preconceived notion…embracing the twists and turns that appear along the way. I love to weave strands of stories together…following one until it seems to peak…then turning back to bring another strand forward in the storyline. I love to embed visual images that repeatedly occur in the environment to serve as metaphors for the topics of my documentaries.