Eli and I talked to Natalie Sanderson about the her debut of her new movie Lost Souls that she made with a close friend from college Sumnims Udas. This is a film about the lost and stolen art pieces of cultures in which the art is considered sacred items, and are worshipped daily, and the outcome of a civilization not having their worship items.

 

(This interview has been slightly modified.)

 

Q: During the process of making your film, how much time did you spend in Nepal, and when did this project start and end?

A: I lived in Nepal for about a year, but I would have stayed longer but I had extended my visa to it's maximum so I was forced to leave. I had started the project in 2003, and ended a couple of months ago.  

 

Q: Were the people in Nepal open to sharing information about their religion, and their beliefs?

A: Yes, most of the time people were very open to sharing this personal information, and appreciated our reasoning for making this film.  

 

Q: Why did you bring your film here, and how did you find out about our festival?

A: Well actually, I grew up in Santa Barbara and after my visa expired I moved back to Santa Barbara, and started to edit, and then through the paper I found out how to submit my film, and then everything happened from there.