August 2006 – September 2007
Pre-Production:Brandon Kohrt's initial doctorial research and case studies for documentary. Assemble Nepali and American crews. Purchase equipment, tickets and supplies.
October 2007 – December 2007
Field Production:Robert Koenig & Scott Ippolito arrive in Nepal in Early October.
The documentary includes interviews from leading figures in Nepal and from across the globe:
- Prachanda (Supreme Commander of the Communist Party of Nepal-Maoists)
- Jimmy Carter (Former U.S. President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate)
- Ian Martin (Special Representative to the Secretary General of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Mission in Nepal, UNMIN)
- Eddie Thomas (Head of Child Protection, United Nations Mission in Nepal, UNMIN)
- Manjushree Thapa (Bestselling Nepali Author of works such as Forget Kathmandu and The Tutor of History)
- Vidhya Bhandari (Parliament Member from the United Marxist Leninist (UML) Party)
- Ganesh Man Pun (President of the Young Communist League)
- Kunda Dixit (Publisher of The Nepali Times)
- Kamal Shahi (President of the Maoist Student Union, ANNISU-R)
- Representatives of major humanitarian and international non-governmental organizations in Nepal (UNICEF, Save the Children-U.S.A, International Rescue Committee, Search for Common Ground, Transcultural Psychosocial Organization)
- And, children who have been associated with armed forces and armed groups in Nepal.
January 2008 - 2009
Post-Production:Editing, script writing, transcription of interviews, translation of Nepali interviews, website updates, art design, grant writing, fundraising and marketing. The 30-minute version of the film was completed on May 15, 2008.
May 2008
Film Festival Screenings:30-minute documentary is completed and sent out to Film Festival.
STATUS OF THE PROJECT (as of July 2008)Filming of RETURNED is 75% complete and we have already edited a 30-minute version. This version will be screened at the Atlanta Underground Film Festival in August and The Society for Visual Anthropology's annual Film Festival in November, where it won the "Best Student Film" award. We have shot over 70 hours of HD footage, including 36 interviews in Nepal and we are beginning to edit the 56:40 length version. Additionally, the filmmakers have already raised
over $25,000 in private donations toward the production. We are planning a follow-up shoot in Nepal to revisit the child soldiers to see what has happen to them since the Maoist have gained control of the country.