Film Shooting:  Nepal’s natural geographic beauty has block buster locations to film movies of every genre known. 

‘This film may change my life forever’’. This is what some of us feel after watching a film that touches the heart deep down in those most emotional corners of the soul. Some moments live forever in our celluloid age, and for many fans, film locations where scenes were shot have become places of pilgrimage; and Nepal – known worldwide as ‘the abode of the gods’ aptly fits into such a scenario. Explore Nepal through the eyes of Cecil B. Demille who shot ‘The Ten Commandments’’, using the Sinai desert and locations in the historical Middle east. Nepal has ideal locations for movies of religious dimensions in typical spots that include rugged Dolpa, Mustang, Jomsom and Muktinath. These areas possess some of the best known trekking trails in the world with sceneries that stun the senses. Award-winning photographer/filmmaker Eric Valli dared to create this film in the forbidden Dolpo region of Nepal to create ‘Himalaya’ [‘Caravan’, the first Nepalese film to be nominated for an International Academy Award. Nepal has made a niche for itself with some of the best locations in the world to shoot films of any entertaining level.

Foreign film-makers can use Nepal’s cultural heritage sites in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur with its narrow back lanes to film movies similar to the type of known Hollywood films like ‘Heat’ and ‘Bonnie & Clyde’’ where marathon chases can be made on ‘foot’ instead of cars because of Kathmandu’s cramped streets and the maze of backyard lanes that would make for exceptional films where the costs would also be far less than using cars or any kind of vehicles. Even a gutsy gritty film on Nepal’s recent earthquakes can be turned into a film of formidable ‘search and rescue’ operations based on a love story with tragic and happy conclusions that could move a world looking for the ideal story of survival in the toughest of times. 

Films on the lines of ‘Braveheart’ based on Scottish history can also be created and shot on the sweeping, mountainous landscapes of Nepal which cannot be faked and really are the wild, rocky Highlands of the Himalayas which are of the highest altitudes in the world. Nepal’s Himalayas can be used for producing films on India’s renowned Mughal history, which began with Timur [Tamerlane – a descendent of Genghis Khan] who came in via the Khyber Pass from Afghanistan to establish Mughal rule in all of India. Nepal possesses superb backgrounds for films of historical significance. 

The number of film shootings taking place in Nepal has witnessed a growing trend each year, according to government data. This reflects Nepal’s increasing popularity for on-location shootings. In studying different trending patterns, foreign film-makers have preferred cultural heritage sites in Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Lalitpur as well as Mt Everest and sites in Chitwan, Baglung, Pokhara, Lukla, Namche and Nagarkot. Though much documentaries shot in Nepal are in English, many French, German, Dutch, Japanese, Danish, Swedish and Indonesian films, which also include documentaries and TVCs have also been shot in Nepal. Past records show various movies shot in Nepal went on to become famous hitting box office charts; some of them are namely: ‘The Conquest of Everest’, the Chinese movie ‘Up in the Wind’, Hindi movies ‘Khuda Gawah’, the block buster ‘Hare Ram Hare Krishna’, ‘Love in Nepal’, ‘Caravan’ and the Cantonese film ‘Bodhi Dharma and Qi Yuah’. 

‘Incentive Holidays’ has the expertise to carry out all the groundwork related to obtaining permission from government offices, processing all the paper work and handling all logistics in transporting equipment and providing skilled manpower for locations based in challenging Himalayan regions.