Shangdong To Stupa

Shangdong to Stupa is a short film by Nomadic Brothers highlighting the arduous lives of pastoral communities in the high mountains of Ladakh. For centuries, these communities have lived alongside predators such as the Snow Leopard and the Tibetan Wolf. The film focuses on the complex relation that they share with these predators, especially the wolf.

Predators can deeply affect the life of a herder. Livestock killed by predators don’t just bring economic loss, they cause emotional stress to the herder and their family. Efforts to reduce conflict and set-up programmes to ensure financial relief to herders are being made by the government and other community-based organisations, which in turn is creating conditions conducive for conservation.

Pastoral communities are coming forward to acknowledge this and express their continuing support in their own unique ways. 

Shangdong to Stupa is a story of pastoral people, told in Ladakhi by young Ladakhi filmmakers. The Nature Conservation Foundation works with herders in Ladakh and supported a part of the initiative. Munmun Dhalaria provided key editing support for the film.