LOOKING FOR TASHI

• Genre: Adventure, Culture, Travel
   
• Location:  North Himalayas
   
• Delivery:  2008
   
• Length: 30 minutes
   
• Partners: Anecdote Films
   

Thirty years ago, Mila Swart together with her 12-year-old daughter and her (then) husband Hans set off on an amazing trek in the Ladakh and Zanskar regions of Northern India. The trip, led by Tashi, a young Tibetan (his first time as a guide) and his 6 horses, began and ended in Manali where the family was living. The route was via Keylong (3000 metres), a town that had just been opened up to Westerners, up to Sarchu (4,200 metres) and on to Leh via the Gya Gorge. The family then traveled on to the Lamayuru Temple where the Dalai Llama just happened to be visiting, and then trekked home following the Tsarap and Kurgiakh rivers. All in all, the trip took nearly three months.

At that time Hans Swart was a well-known photographer who captured the whole journey on his new 8mm film camera. Unfortunately when Hans watched the rushes, he believed he had over-exposed the film and therefore never finished watching or editing the footage. The tapes lay hidden in a suitcase until last year, when Hans was diagnosed with terminal cancer. The tapes were digitized, washed and copied to DVD and Hans was able to watch, for the very first time, the rushes of the film he had taken 30 years Previously - this event occurred a few weeks before Hans died.

In July 2007, Mila (now 63 years old) and her daughter Miloes (now 42 years old), traveled back to Manali. The goal: to find the old house where they stayed, and the original horseman Tashi and make a short trip up to the Lachalung La Pass (5,400 metres) to dedicate a prayer flag to Hans. This trip was recorded on HDV, together with interviews, re-visiting the old house and its inhabitants and the amazing discovery of Tashi.

This 30-minute film was premiered at the Himalayan Film Festival, Amsterdam in 2008.