Jungwa: The Broken Balance

A moving documentary detailing the catastrophic results of the climate crisis, Jungwa documents the aftermath of the flash floods that devastated Leh, Ladkah, in 2010.

Using archival footage and interviews with director Stanzin Dorjai Gya, the film shows a community grappling with a new relationship to their natural surroundings and the broken balance of “Jungwa,” which in Ladakhi refers to the the four elements of air, fire, water, and earth.

A reminder of the impermanence of the planet itself, this documentary was selected among thousands of films from around the world to be shown at the United Nations COP21 Paris Conference on climate change in 2015.

The film will be followed by a talkback with director Stanzin Dorjai Gya.

This film is being screened in collaboration with the New Approaches in Himalayan Education Conference in association with Earth Day.

Himalayan Heritage programs are supported by Heather Beth Henson.

Stanzin Dorjai Gya hails from a remote village in northeastern India, at an elevation of more than 15,000 feet in the Himalayas. Like other children of Gya Village, Stanzin had a semi-nomadic childhood, spending half of the month tending his family’s herd of yaks and cashmere goats, and the other half attending school. In 1995, unable to pass the necessary standardized tests to complete high school, Stanzin began attending an alternative school, SECMOL (Students Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh). Dedicated to teaching students in a nontraditional setting (the students built the campus themselves using environmentally friendly materials), SECMOL ignited Stanzin’s passion for film. He earned his bachelor of arts at Jammu University in 2005. Later he met Christiane Mordelet, a French filmmaker, and they have since worked in close collaboration, producing internationally acclaimed, award-winning films.

The founder of the Himalayan Film House in Leh, Stanzin has directed and produced notable feature films and documentaries on regional, national, and international issues.