Alumni Spotlight: Sonam Choekyi Lama

Alumni

Apr 18

Written By HYF

We are thrilled to highlight one of our incredible young Kailash Alumni and her continued accomplishments as a storyteller and advocate for Nepal. Sonam Choekyi Lama (pictured below) came to Kailash at the age of 9 after losing her father, and with the unconditional support of HYF, she went on to attend the Kathmandu University School of Arts and found work as a freelance journalist. Her stories and photographs - often featuring the Dolpo region where she was born - appeared regularly in the Nepali Times and other major Kathmandu publications, and her short film The Snow Leopard Calling won Best Documentary in the Panorama category in the 2020 Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival (KIMFF) and was featured at film festivals around the world.

Last month, Sonam’s newest film, Snow Leopard Sisters premiered at SXSW and brought the Dolpo region of Nepal into stunning global focus. The film, which Sonam co-directed alongside Ben Ayers and Andrew Lynch, follows Sonam’s sister and conservationist Tshiring and her young protegee as they work to protect the dwindling population of snow leopards that call the Himalayas home.

Last year Sonam also accepted a directorial scholarship to the Documentary Visual School at the International Center of Photography in New York, and we cannot wait for her many future projects. Congratulations Sonam!