Dorji Wangchuk,Producer,Bhutan Broadcasting Service(BBS)

•Introduction
On 5th November 2003, the Japan Prize International Educational Program Contest conferred the Hoso Bunka Foundation (HBF) award for the best proposal to the Bhutan Broadcasting Service for “School Among Glaciers”. While it was historic achievement for BBS to receive the first international award, it was also historic event for Japan Prize as it was celebrating the 30th anniversary and in fact instituted this award to commemorate the event. The proposal then realised into a film which was telecast over the BBS channel and had received wide response for its excellence in quality and content. The film has also been entered and nominated in two international film festivals – Amsterdam and Basel. BBS plans to enter the film in various festivals around the world in 2005.

This report provides some backstage information with the production of this film.

•Return to Bhutan

In mid November, I returned to Bhutan with the trophy and was accorded a hero welcome by my friends and relatives. I was given a warm welcome back in the BBS where a small official function was organised for me to formally hand over the trophy to the Managing Director of BBS. And for all my colleagues to congratulate me for the prize. It was the very first time such an event took place in BBS. Several personal receptions and dinner followed including one organised by the engineering department where I had worked for 17 years before moving into production.

Above all I received by the prime minister who congratulated me on the award and wished more success in future.

Thanks to satellite programming on NHK World, the BBS radio and TV carried the news the very next day I was awarded the trophy in Tokyo. So after my return the national newspaper Kuensel carried the news (clippings attached).

•Pre-production & planning (Dec. 2004 – April 2005)

Thanks to Hoso Bunka Foundation and the coverage accorded by NHK World, BBS and Kuensel, soon the whole country came to know about the prize including the international aid agencies like UNICEF, WFP, WWF and private companies in Bhutan. I was asked by several people that if I required anything for the production, they would be very happy to a part of the production. So it was then that I thought of enlarging the production – from a 30 minute documentary to a feature length documentary film. I rewrote the script, prepared the budget and I approached the agencies for financial assistance to add up to the prize money provided by HBF. With the trophy in hand it was not very difficult to raise funds for the film and soon I raised the additional $15,000 I required. UNICEF provided $ 4,000, WFP provided $ 5,000 and Sustainable Development $ 6,000.

Many private companies also sent contribution in kinds. Bhutan Polymers sent 200 pieces of sacks for transportation, Army Welfare Project contributed 24 bottles of whisky to beat the cold of Lunana, Karma Steel sent five steel boxes for transporting production gear and Lotus adventures rented us tents and camping equipment free-of-charge.

Some other agencies provided logistic support. The Royal Bhutan Army committed sending helicopters for emergency evacuation, Gasa Dzongkhag Administration arranged the transportation (horses and yaks) and the Department of Medical Services arranged first aid kit for the production team.

The period from December to January passed as we raised funds for the production. Besides that we carried out physical training like trekking and walking in high mountains. The trek to Lunana is considered the most difficult trek in the world and thus required a heavy training and high level of fitness to carry out an assignment there.

Spring came in March and with that two Deutsche Welle TV training staff came over to train the production team in professional works like camera, sound and lighting and non-professional training in high-altitude survival, logistic planning and production. In April we identified the teacher Mr. Nawang Rabten and we informed him that we would be following him in his journey and assignment to Lunana. First he thought we were joking. Later when he learnt that we were serious, he felt very privileged and proud that I had chosen to do a documentary on him. Later when NHK led by Ms. Akiko Murai and Mr. Toshiaki Watanabe told me that they would be following my work to make a documentary on me, I was equally excited and felt privileged.

•Production (May ï October)

A prolonged winter worried both the teacher and myself. To reach Lunana one had to make four passes over 4500 meters above sea level. One actually standing at 5200 meters. In the beginning of May the weather report from Lunana was not encoyraging. None of the passes were open. Instead it was still snowing heavily in two of the passes.

Filming in Thimphu began in May where six scenes were shot. We also conducted a religious ceremony for the success of the production and for the well-being of the all involved production crew, support staff and even horses and yaks that will join us from Tashithang and Laya.

The journey to Lunana began on 17th May as foretold by the astrologer. We filmed the teacher as he left Thimphu for Punakha and Tashithang on truck with his belonging.

The long trek kicks off in Tashithang and till Gasa we had no problem except for the rain, leeches and sand flies that have sucked half of my blood from my body. We bid goodbye to the NHK team who followed us till Tashithang. As the leader of the expedition I was obviously felt a huge responsibility coming on my shoulder. Not so much on the success of the film as much as on the safety of my crew considering the danger we were venturing into. But we had faith in ourselves and above all in the almighty.

Nawang submitted his acceptance of the assignment to the Governor of Gasa who asked us to wait for news from Lunana before we proceeded any further. The governor being a friend of mine was worried about our safety. But even after three days no news came from Lunana. At that point Nawang decided to proceed to Laya and hope that by the time we get to the foot of the mountains the passes would clear. We were already running two days behind schedule. We nevertheless performed a religious ceremony to the guardian deity of Gasa region – Guru Gomo.

We left Gasa for Laya on 23rd May. An incessant rainfall accompanied us making the filming more difficult. We reached Laya where few more scenes had to be done. News finally came from Lunana that the passes were through. Rain kept showering on us but by then we got used to working in wet condition.

We arrived in Lunana on 4rd June – 18 days after we left Thimphu. The weather in Lunana was much better and except for occasional showers we experienced a good weather. We had three weeks of filming instead of two as Nawang encountered another unforeseen problem – no students. But during my stay in the valley my biggest worry was the return journey out of Lunana. In fact my worry turned out to be well-founded. On the second day of the return trek from Lunana to Laya, we were caught in a snow blizzard. The temperature dropped to subzero degree. Wind was blowing at hurricane speed slapping at us hail and snow. There was no place to take refuge. We were fully drenched and cold. Our yaks with our dry clothing were far behind. All the team members, except for one, were stuck with altitude sickness and hypothermia. I saw my blood retreating from my left arm. It was one of those near-death experiences that I was always told of. Fortunately everyone survived but with a shock. Today my little finger bears the mark of that experience. We arrived back to Thimphu mid July while my cameraman and soundman continued in Lunana filming the teacher for the entire scholastic year. I had nevertheless brought back 60% of the footages required for the film.

•Post production & presentation

I started working on the post production in August. The rest of July was spent catching up with the administrative works back in the office. I completed the rough editing by the end of August. Two misfortunes stuck us in the beginning of September. Camera broke down beyond repair in Lunana and the cameraman, Sonam Loday had to trek in shortest possible time to Thimphu and back to Lunana. It was then I felt that I had made the right choice in Sonam because no ordinary person would do that. After this was settled, the wife of the soundman, Sherab met with an accident in Thimphu. So another logistic arrangement was made to evacuate the soundman. There was also another human side of the problem. Whether or not I should tell the soundman what had happened in Thimphu. If I did, he might rush over to Thimphu and die of altitude sickness. If I don’t and if his wife dies in Thimphu, I would be blamed. I gathered the remaining team in Thimphu and we discussed the whole day. No one could give any suggestion and looked up to me to make the decision. For a moment we considered helicopter. But then I met the surgeon who was attending to her who assured me that she was finally out of danger. We radio-ed to Sherab to come to Thimphu with the escort but we didn’t tell him that his wife was in the hospital.

Now the brighter side of the story. Thanks to the Japan Prize, I was invited to sit in a jury of a ABU TV Award held in Kazakhstan at the end of September.

Winter came early set in Lunana. Nawang left Lunana at the end of third week of October. My cameraman followed, filmed the exit and rushed to Thimphu with the footages. He reached Thimphu on 22nd October. We worked day and night on the final post production – in fact till the morning of 26th when I caught a flight to Tokyo for presentation at Japan Prize 2004.

•Festivals & audience response

Thanks to the Japan Prize, School Among Glaciers was selected without going through the pre-selection process in two film festivals – Himalayan Film Festival Amsterdam and Basel Karlsruhe Switzerland. I have received several invitations to enter the film in other film festivals around the world.
School Among Glaciers was telecast over BBS on January 1st and 2nd 2005 receiving comments on the online version of Kuensel, the national newspaper.

A session was dedicated for screening and discussion at the UNESCO Education for All Workshop on 31st January 2005 in Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently UNESCO screened the film at EFA Workshop for the Journalists from ten-most populous States, New Delhi, February 4, 2005.

•Concluding words
In Bhutan, School Among Glaciers has provoked a serious discussion on issues raised by the film. Both the Minister and the Secretary of Education complimented me for the film. I was personally praised by the minister who gave me the carte blanc to raise any issue on education in the country. No producer in Bhutan has been accorded this privilege.

The Ministry of Education plans to screen the film at the Annual Education Conference 2005.

•Acknowledgement

In Bhutanese there is a phrase that describes the coming together of all good things in life phunsum tsho ni. I consider School Among Glaciers one of such event where all good things came together. The award in Japan followed by unconditional support from UNICEF and WFP who supplemented the production budget, Deutsche Welle who provided the crash course, private companies who sent contribution in kind, teacher who never faced a camera in his life but turned out to be a great actor, people and students of Lunana who had never seen a camera and Japan Prize who invited me to premiere it in Japan.

Above all, I pay my homage and gratitude to the Japan Prize and Hoso Bunka Foundation who have initiated the award to promote good ideas that would otherwise remain shelved forever.