'Spirit' is a celebration of the human spirit, shot on location across Nepal in Kathmandu, Pokhara, at Pashupatinath temple, and at the Nagi Gompa, Namo Buddha, Tamang and Kanying Sherub Ling monasteries. The film’s action follows a community of nuns and monks, young and old, as they prepare for a major ceremony, and is based on a poem spoken from the perspective of a narrator questioning the nature of their own existence. You can read an interview with me in Indie Shorts Mag, where I discuss in greater detail how the film was conceived and made.
*'Spirit' was nominated for Best International Film at the 2020 Georgia Shorts Film Festival,
*was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2020 Summer in the South Film Festival in Atlanta, Georgia,
*was an Official Selection of the 2020 Buenos Aires International Documentary Film Festival (FIDBA),
*was an Official Selection of the 2018 FilmBath Festival in the UK,
*debuted at the Future Shorts Spring Screening in Saigon on June 1st 2018,
*and has been featured on Directors Notes, Booooooom, Film Shortage and Indie Shorts Mag.
Written & Directed by Dillon M. Banda
Cinematography by Dillon M. Banda
Narration by Mary Duong
Edited by Sean Cunningham
Production Assistance by Jenny Do
Score & Sound Mix by Patrick Shanahan
Click here to view a series of photographs taken on location across Nepal.