NEPAL 2008
OUR EXPERIENCE
In 2008 Reel Youth visited Nepal to make a documentary about children who had been rescued from the adult prison system, in partnership with The Kamala Foundation and Prisoners Assistance Nepal (more about the project). The resulting film, Family Stones, was produced with the support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and premiered in Reel Youth's Program at the Vancouver International Film Festival. It toured with the Reel Youth Film Festival in 2008/09. Two years later, Reel Youth led a UN Habitat Economic Development Project with a selection of youth from Prisoners Assistance Nepal, some of which were featured in the film from 2008. They learned the fundamentals of filmmaking, from storyboarding to framing and lighting, using a video camera, editing and uploading their films to a website they made. We left professional video production equipment in the hands of the 8 youth and helped them set up their own small filmmaking business, AABISKAR Productions. Reel Youth's Nepal blog.
PROJECT DETAILS
The film Family Stones is a story of hope and resilience, from children affected by unjust imprisonment, war, drug and human trafficking, and finally the loving environment of Prisoners Assistance Nepal and The Kamala Foundation.
In Nepal, it is common for children to live in jail along with their incarcerated parents. These are often the children of parents who cannot afford to support their children otherwise. As the families are poor, their access to food, clean water, health services and education are limited in the hierarchal prisons system of Nepal.
Thousands of children have been abducted and conscripted, by force, into the Maoist “People’s War” against imperialism, feudalism and bureaucrat capitalism. These children, many of the lowest castes, are indoctrinated with the Maoist ideals and used as combatants, informants, cooks, porters or human shields. Nepal has few programs to rehabilitate these traumatized child soldiers.
The film featured the work of the founder of The Kamala Foundation, Canadian Zackary Burton, and it's sister organization, Prisoners Assistance Nepal. The Kamala Foundation and Prisoners Assistance Nepal are non-profit organizations who support, and run loving and healthy children’s homes for young people who have been rescued from prisons and combat. They provide rehabilitation and education, build life skills, and nurture existing relationships with incarcerated parents.
The film was produced with the support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian international Development Agency (CIDA).
Indoctrinated at fourteen by Maoist recruiters, Chandra became a messenger for the Maoist rebels in their uprising against the government, an act considered treason by the Nepali Army who arrested him…
Reel Youth, in partnership with Prisoners Assistance Nepal (PA Nepal), is proud to present a touching and uplifting film about seven remarkable Nepali youth and their struggle to connect to a society that relinquished them.
Filmed in part by the youth themselves, ‘Family Stones’ showcases the work of Canadian Zachary Barton as the Directer of The Kamala Foundation, and its sister organization PA Nepal. It is a testament to the resilience of children and celebration of the people advocating for the rights of prisoners in Nepal.
Scored with songs by the youth of PA Nepal, and violist Christien Lein, the result is a film that is much like the children themselves: captivating, ebullient and memorable.
This film was produced with the financial support of the Canadian Government through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
Family Stones - A Journey to Freedom in Nepal (2008)
From corners of bleak Nepalese Prisons comes a story of irrepressible youth. It is a testament to the resilience of these eight young people and the individuals who continue to rescue children from Nepal's prisons. Over ten years ago Reel Youth founders Mark Vonesch and Erica Køhn travelled to Nepal to record the stories of young people who were rescued from the adult prison system. Reel Youth presents a touching and uplifting film about five Nepalese children who have been rescued from the adult prison system, two Maoist child soldiers, and the amazing place they call home. Filmed in part by the...
