Namaste Himalaya - How a village in Nepal opened the world to us

At the pandemic outbreak, the two world travelers, Anna and Michael, are stranded in one of the poorest countries in the world. When Nepal suddenly announces a lockdown and seals off its cities, they flee into the mountains. At the foot of the eight-thousanders, they find refuge and a corrugated iron roof over their heads. In the village, they are greeted cynically with "Namaste Corona" because the locals fear that the globetrotters might carry the virus in their luggage. But as food becomes scarce and hunger sets in, cohesion grows. Field workers, beggars, and mountain guides become their friends - and the two become students of a philosophy of life full of devotion.

We, filmmakers and protagonists simultaneously, wanted to be free to discover the world. But we had made the calculation without the pandemic. All plans were thrown overboard; there was no forward and no back. We were suddenly stuck in the highest mountains in the world. While the camera had been our faithful companion for months before, it ended up in the corner for weeks in Nepal, frustrated by the standstill. Because where the adventure was seemingly on pause, we lacked a reason to film. But that changed when we realized the incredible stories we suddenly encountered in the microcosm surrounding us. Without a script and without knowing what the next day would bring, we not only witnessed but became an integral part of a wonderful and yet at the same time traumatic story. A story about being stranded in a tiny street in a mountain village in the Himalayas, which completely changed our view of the familiar world.