हिउँको गीत
Directed By: Bimal Subedi
Produced By: Joes Pandey, Bimal Subedi & Samundra Raj Ghimire
Actors: Barsha Raut, Pooja Chand, Joes Pandey, Aakash Khatiwada, Ishir Karmacharya and others
Chief Executive Producers: Jiya Kuikel Khatiwada & Karun Kuikel
Executive Producers: Aakash Khatiwada, Manorath Khanal & Kaushila Khanal Karmacharya
Logline
Based on oral histories of lived experience, an eight-year-old boy in a quiet Midwestern town begins to carry the unspoken memories of his grandparents’ forced displacement from Bhutan, as renewed fears of deportation force his family to confront a past they tried to bury.
Synopsis
In a quiet Midwestern U.S. town, eight-year-old Ishir begins to manifest the suppressed trauma of his grandparents’ exile from Bhutan. Memories of ethnic cleansing, never spoken aloud, surface through the child’s body, dreams, and behavior, unsettling the family’s fragile sense of safety. As inherited memories bleed into everyday life, the family’s American sanctuary starts to unravel. When renewed deportation raids spread fear through their community, silence is no longer a protection. To save Ishir and themselves, three generations must confront their buried past and reclaim their shared strength to survive yet another era of displacement.
Why Now?
After surviving one of the largest forced displacements in modern history, the Bhutanese refugee community in the United States is once again living under the shadow of fear. This community already carries deep, unresolved trauma and one of the highest suicide rates among refugee populations. Recent reports in 2026 reveal dozens deported and hundreds arrested across Midwestern states. For some, forced return to Nepal—the temporary refuge they once fled to survive- has led to devastating outcomes, including suicide. The Snow Is Singing responds urgently to this unfolding humanitarian crisis, examining how generational trauma resurfaces when the threat of statelessness returns.
Production Notes
Non-Actors Reenacting Truth: Lead actor Aakash Khatiwada, Ishir Karmacharya, and the cast portray their own lived experiences of displacement.
Grassroots-Driven: Built on the strength of the Bhutanese American community, who provided homes, food, and locations.
Intimate Scale: A dedicated 6–7-person crew fueled by passion rather than traditional production scale.
Blended Form: A drama inside a protest inside a memory, where identity is both a performance and a means of survival
Film Profile: Ultra-low-budget, Women as executives, Independent, Experimental, Immersive, Community-funded,
KEY THEMES
• Ethnic cleansing and state-led cultural erasure
• Intergenerational trauma and mental health
• Statelessness and the illusion of safety in diaspora
• Raising a voice for human rights through community theatre