The Unknown Mountaineers*

My film is about a group of women climbers living in a remote valley in the Karakoram mountain ranges in northern Pakistan. It shows the women go on climbing expeditions on mountains surrounding their pastures and also shows their way of life in the village. The film follows the journey of one girl, Hameeda Bibi, who couldn’t continue her schooling past 6th grade because of problems at home and started training at the local mountaineering school. High-altitude porters and guides who work with foreign expeditions set up this school. Hameeda and her friends learn technical climbing, shots of which are shown in the documentary and then go on a few climbs with the documentary crew.