Dolma du bout du monde

(Dolma From the Middle of Nowhere)
by Anne, Véronique, Erik Lapied
65’, France, 2008

In Zanskar, in the heart of the highest mountains in the world, on the banks of a frozen river, Dolma and her family live, isolated, in an endless winter. They pray, drink tchang, help each other, and walk on snow or ice. Time seems to stand still. 180 kilometres away, on the other side of the river that can only be crossed in winter, when frozen, Dolma’s husband, Stanzin, lives in another world. He drives the caravans up dangerous paths and dreams of becoming a singer. Throughout the season, their destiny is linked to that river, that both separates and unites them. To see Dolma and his children, Stanzin must face the frost, storms, and the river demons, but above all the mirages of the modern world. The directors accompany Dolma in the routines of daily life in a small Himalayan community, with its births, weddings, friendships, and work.

Anne, Véronique, Erik Lapied
Anne (1959) and Erik Lapied (1954) began their career as photographers, and later became documentarists and, as they define themselves, “mountain filmmakers”. Their films deal with the mountain environment, animals, and the people who live there, and are filmed in France, but also in northern Europe, Africa, and the Himalayas. In 2003, their daughter Véronique (1982) joined them for a documentary in the Himalayas.