The Sound of Dreaming

On her way to start a new life in Australia, Sonam remembers a trip she had with a ride-sharing motorcycle driver, Bikash, who had been having the same recurring dream as her. As Bikash and Sonam try to find eachother again in Kathmandu, Bikash begins to use his lucid dreams to find her in the real world.

One day whilst working on the TV series ‘Riverdale’ in Vancouver, I got a lift with a grip who had become addicted to lucid dreaming, to try and re-connect with a woman he had met and formed a beautiful connection with but didn’t know how to find again. He told me that they had talked for hours and realised they both shared the same recurring dream. As he drove, his eyes were deeply tired, he said he was not quite awake but was just waiting to go back to his lucid dream. I knew at that moment, that one day this will be part of a film I make about impossible love. Many years later, after 6 years of living in Nepal, life gave an opportunity to bring this idea to life. Living at the foothills of Tibet, the rest of the pieces of the puzzle of what this film would be fell into place effortlessly. At the core, this is a film about the concept of soul mates, who have been together in a cycle of death and rebirth many times before, but in this lifetime will not have the chance to be together. For our protagonist, Bikash, lucid dreaming has become the bridge between the real world and distant glimpses of past lives together. Every day, thousands of Nepali youths leave their country behind in search of a new life abroad. Seeing entire villages across Nepal become emptied of young people, I had previously created a feature documentary (Journey to the Centre of the Heart) exploring outward migration in Nepal and the inward migration of foreigners like myself, each party looking for the same thing in opposite ends. With limited economic opportunities, outward migration has become a necessity for most families. Reflecting on the delicate nature of outward migration in Nepal, our story was collaboratively brought to life by our local team, who each brought their own life experiences into the story. Sapana Ko Awaz film was shot on location in Nepal in exceptionally difficult conditions during the pandemic in 2021. Whilst shooting for another documentary at a protest in Kathmandu, I was placed in jail and released days before shooting was scheduled. Our film casted non actors and experienced actors side by side. Our casting call received thousands of applicants from far and wide as we tried to find new and authentic voices from people with lived experiences. Our protagonist, Sonam, was a non-actor, who had seen our casting notice on Instagram.