Cover From left: Tenzing Dalha as Tashi and Thinley Lhamo as Pema in ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
From left: Tenzing Dalha as Tashi and Thinley Lhamo as Pema in ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
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‘Shambhala’ became the first Nepalese film to enter the main competition at the Berlin International Film Festival this year. Behind this epic production is Fanny Chong, a producer and documentary filmmaker from Hong Kong.
The Nepalese feature Shambhala is a dark horse that has been making waves on the global film scene. It garnered nominations at three major events: the Golden Horse Award for Best Cinematography last year; the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars in March this year; and the Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival, making it the first Nepalese film to receive such a nomination.
The meditative, scenic feature—set in the Himalayas—follows the story of Pema, a young woman in a polyandrous marriage, who embarks on a quest to find her missing husband and ultimately discovers self-worth and spiritual awakening.
Despite the international acclaim, Fanny Chong, the producer of the film from Hong Kong, says it was not fame that drew her to the project. Rather, it was something deeply personal and unexpected: a fleeting vision of a past life.
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Above Fanny Chong, third to the left, and the rest of the crew of ‘Shambhala’ attended the Berlinale 2025 (Photo: courtesy of Fanny Chong)
Fanny Chong, third to the left, and the rest of the crew of ‘Shambhala’ attended the Berlinale 2025 (Photo: courtesy of Fanny Chong)
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“While walking on the streets of Nepal, I suddenly felt like I had been to this place in a previous life, where I was a nun. That was the only time I felt a memory of a past life,” she says, recalling her first visit to Nepal ten years ago, during a documentary shoot on a nun. The resulting film would later become Ani Bond: Choying Drolma, released in 2023.
Chong doesn’t subscribe to Buddhism as a religion but has long been intrigued by its lifestyle and meditative practices. That experience, she says, deepened her curiosity about the spiritual, making her decision to join the Shambhala project with Nepalese director Min Bahadur Bham feel serendipitous. “What I find most remarkable is that this story is about a tough girl rediscovering herself, which resonates closely with what I seek in life,” she adds.
Shambhala is set to open in Hong Kong cinemas on July 17. Ahead of its local release, Tatler spoke with Chong about the challenges of international production and the personal impact of the film.
Above A film still from ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
A film still from ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
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Congratulations on the Berlinale nomination. What does this recognition mean to you?
From start to finish, the production has taken almost eight years. The night before the screening in Berlin, we had a final screening to check for any errors. It brought me to tears how we finally got to see the finished product on the screen after so long.
Which character in the film do you relate to the most?
Definitely the main character Pema. While the Himalayas is miles away from Hong Kong, her spiritual journey of seeking her own voice within the conventional role of a wife echoes with the challenges faced by women in Hong Kong. While many of them are successful and independent, they may not truly know what they want or understand themselves. This is something I can strongly connect with Pema on a personal level.
Above From left: Thinley Lhamo as Pema and Sonam Topden as Karma in ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
From left: Thinley Lhamo as Pema and Sonam Topden as Karma in ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
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What do you want the Hong Kong audience to take away from the movie?
It’s rare to have a Nepalese film with so many collaborators: filmmakers and producers from Nepal, France and Hong Kong. We want more people to see the culture of Nepal and the Tibetan world. Apart from the Hong Kong audience, I also hope that the Nepalese community based in Hong Kong will watch this film and feel proud of their country and its people.
Additionally, this story addresses the overarching theme of finding yourself. So, I hope more people can see it and feel connected.
What challenges did you and your team encounter while making the film?
I wasn’t able to go into the mountains, so there was no producer on set. I had to manage the production remotely. It was prohibitively expensive to secure permits and insurance for travel into the mountains, especially for foreigners. I would have been a burden anyway because I didn’t understand Tibetan or the local dialects, and I’m not used to having no electricity and bathing facilities, which was the case in the location where my team stayed.
For my team, getting to the shoot location was challenging. They had to take one or two domestic flights in Kathmandu, then a two-day taxi ride, followed by a four-day trek to reach the deep Himalayan mountains. Of course, some equipment was transported by helicopters.
During the days when the crew was on site in the mountains, I lost connection with them. The director had some urgent documents to sign. He managed to call, twice, using a satellite phone.
Before we started filming, the director had a motorcycle accident, injuring his foot, and he also experienced altitude sickness. One of the camerapeople had haematuria due to the area’s low oxygen levels. Luckily, they had a medical team all along.
Above The cast and crew of ‘Shambhala’ filming at the Himalayas (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
The cast and crew of ‘Shambhala’ filming at the Himalayas (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
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What is the biggest difference between producing this film and your previous works?
Shambhala was my first time working with so many countries together. Each country had their own investments and legal conditions, making the process quite complex.
What introduced you to the film industry?
I’ve loved watching movies since a young age. I went to the film school at the Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts, and everything fell into place naturally. I always knew I would pursue a path in producing. I started by making documentaries about people and Chinese culture. I’ve also tried making commercial films before, but after one attempt, I realised it wasn’t for me as there are usually a lot of restrictions on my creative freedom and I feel their messages aren’t as deep. I prefer the independent production model with a smaller team, like the crew of Shambhala, which only had 20 members.
Above From left: a film still from ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
From left: a film still from ‘Shambhala’ (Photo: courtesy of Broadway Cinematheque and Fanny Chong)
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Looking at the film industry in Hong Kong, many cinemas are closing down in recent years. Does this worry you?
I believe the film industry won’t die out. There is still a significant number of people who enjoy watching movies in cinemas. I, for one, am one of them. You have to watch a movie on the big screen to truly immerse yourself in the story and understand it. I hope the government can provide more support to the film industry and cinemas.
What other plans or goals do you have for the future?
I want to keep making the art films that I love and collaborate with directors from more countries. The film industry worldwide is leaning on co-productions, which I’m interested in. If I can achieve success in this and produce good films, I’d be very happy.
Additional reporting: Tricia Li
Zabrina is the Senior Editor, Arts and Culture of Tatler Hong Kong. She specialises in performing arts, visual art and film. Her wanderlust was first fuelled by the Mighty Rovers Antarctica Expedition 2010. Over the years, she has interviewed A-list artists and filmmakers, including Oscar winners Chlóe Zhao and Tim Yip, Golden Horse winner Sylvia Chang, In the Mood for Love cinematographer Christopher Doyle, Pachinko author Min Jin Lee, and Coachella’s first Chinese solo singer Jackson Wang. She won gold at the WAN-IFRA Asian Media Awards for her 2021 feature on the waves of hate crimes targeting Asian Americans.
