Screening: Living Goddess – Nepal

Living Goddess is an intricate piece of film making about child Gods and violent revolutions in Nepal, especially poignant now as Nepal has declared itself a Republic and has given its king 14 days to vacate his Palace.

The film follows three girls worshipped as Living Gods and from whom the King takes his authority. As the goddesses play on toy mobile phones in a secret world of Tantric ritual and blood sacrifice the doomed, out of touch King gambles his throne in a last ditch attempt to hold on to power.

A Maoist insurgency rages in the hills as the people take to the streets demanding democracy in what becomes a bloody, People Power revolution.  The fighting on the streets is shot in a visceral, and immediate way, with the camera right in the middle of the action.

The filmmakers allow the subjects to tell the story, with no mediation from a narrator.  The goddesses describe their own world in their own words, and try to make sense of the chaos that is pressing in on their ancient way of life.  Now, as Nepal abolishes its monarchy for good the child goddess tradition may soon disappear.

Living Goddess is the story of a nation on the brink of change.

Directed by Ishbel Whitaker.
Produced by Marc Hawker and Andrew Curtis.
Photographed by Marc Hawker. Edited by Stefan Ronowicz. Original score by Nitin Sawhney