Kusunda

Kusunda is a voice-driven virtual reality experience that explores what makes a language fall asleep and what it takes to awaken one. Kusunda shaman Lil Bahadur has forgotten his indigenous mother tongue. His granddaughter, Hima, wants to revive it. Most languages at threat belong to indigenous communities such as Kusunda in Nepal. Narrated by its co-creators—Kusunda shaman Lil Bahadur and his granddaughter Hima—Kusunda contrasts two generations set apart by their lifestyles and brought together by the struggle for their indigenous identity. Lil Bahadur, who led a traditional hunter gatherer lifestyle for 40 years, lost his mother tongue when he moved to settle in the village. “When my parents died I had no one left to speak my mother tongue with. Slowly the language started fading away,” he says with a sense of resignation. Lil’s granddaughter Hima, a bright teenager detached from her grandfather’s hunter-gatherer identity, represents a modern Kusunda identity and is taking on the challenge to revive her mother tongue. “I am proud of my heritage and culture. I’ll do whatever I can to preserve it and I’m confident of being successful.”

Every two weeks a language falls asleep. When a language goes dormant, we risk losing a worldview and immense knowledge embedded in it. This makes our film urgent. Kusunda pays tribute to the efforts of our co-creators, a tight knit indigenous community in Nepal that is working hard to revitalise their mother tongue against all odds. We hope this story inspires other communities and marginalised groups to fight for their rights.

PRODUCTION1: Felix Gaedtke, Gayatri Parameswaran - NowHere Media
Emser Strasse 27
12051 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 176 71575101
felix@nowheremedia.net
gayatri@nowheremedia.net
http://www.nowheremedia.net

PRODUCTION 2: Soenke Kirchhof - INVR.space
Leuschnerdamm 31
10999 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 306279884
Cell. +49 1772462771
sk@invr.space
http://invr.space

PRODUCTION 3: Emma Creed, Aliki Tsakoumi – Fasad
Tel. +46 736004438
emma@fasad.se
aliki@fasad.se
http://fasad.se

PRODUCTION 4: Kuan-Yuan LAI - Poké Poké Creative
davisshu@gmail.com

INTERNATIONAL AND ITALIAN DISTRIBUTION: Felix Gaedtke - NowHere Media
Emser Strasse 27
12051 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 176 71575101
felix@nowheremedia.net
http://www.nowheremedia.net

PRESS OFFICE: Felix Gaedtke - NowHere Media
Emser Strasse 27
12051 – Berlin, Germany
Tel. +49 176 71575101
felix@nowheremedia.net
http://www.nowheremedia.net