Santa Barbara Film Fest 2022 Women Directors: Meet Nancy Svendsen – “Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest”

After two decades in leadership positions in various facets of the healthcare industry, Nancy Svendsen became an independent filmmaker based in Northern California, beginning with the short documentary “Svend” (2013), about an effort to preserve a historic wooden boat class in the San Francisco Bay. Combining her love of storytelling with her experience running large organizations and her passion for women’s rights, Svendsen founded the Follow Your Dream Foundation Inc., a 501(c)3 organization, as a place to incubate and launch powerful stories that can influence people’s lives. Exposure to the story of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa would spark a quest that would culminate some 10 years later with the release in 2022 of Svendsen’s feature directorial debut, the documentary “Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest.”

“Pasang: In the Shadow of Everest” is screening at the 2022 Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which is taking place through March 12.

W&H: Describe the film for us in your own words.

NS: This is a biopic about the life of Pasang Lhamu Sherpa, the first Nepali woman to summit Everest. Her story is one of great courage, universally relevant, and inspiring. At the same time, her life story is layered, complicated, and nuanced, reflecting the many obstacles that she faced. It is the story of an unlikely hero.

W&H: What drew you to this story?

NS: I was immediately drawn to Pasang’s story when my brother-in-law, Dorjee Sherpa, first told me about his sister. As a Sherpa (Indigenous) woman in 1990s in Nepal, Pasang had very few rights. She was a Buddhist in a Hindu kingdom, outside of the caste system entirely — an “out-caste.” She fought multiplying obstacles in her dream to summit Everest: her family, international climbers, her government, and the mountain itself. Her charisma reached out from the archival footage to me.

W&H: What do you want people to think about after they watch the film?

NS: I hope people see that she was a complex woman awakened to her role as an inspirational leader at a time of great change. Amidst her country’s tumultuous politics and the postcolonial attitudes of the international climbing elite, her courage to face mounting obstacles inspired her country. I want people to think about, who gets to take risks? A woman, a mother, an Indigenous person? And whose mountain is it?

W&H: What was the biggest challenge in making the film?

NS: Pasang came from a poor village high in the Himalaya. They didn’t have cameras so there was no footage of her as a child or teenager. Piecing together archival footage, photos from family and friends’ scrapbooks, home movies shot in multiple formats, and old Nepali TV interviews was like putting a huge puzzle together.

W&H: How did you get your film funded? Share some insights into how you got the film made.

NS: I formed my own 501(c)3 foundation, the Follow Your Dream Foundation, so I could do my own fundraising. I raised all of my funds through private donations from individuals and corporations. I did several crowdfunding campaigns.

W&H: What inspired you to become a filmmaker?

NS: I have always believed in the power of stories to change people’s minds. I have loved stories since childhood. This is my second career. I left the corporate world because I wanted to do something that personally inspired me.

W&H: What’s the best and worst advice you’ve received?

NS: Best advice: You have to keep working at your film until you are satisfied it is the best it can be — you are the only person who can decide that.

Worst advice: Try to fix a lack of footage problem with animation. It can work — but it can also be an expensive gamble.

W&H: What advice do you have for other women directors?

NS: Don’t be intimidated by everyone who has more experience than you do. Trust yourself to make good decisions. Look for “no-drama” teammates — the filmmaking process is hard enough without emotional drama.

W&H: Name your favorite woman-directed film and why.

NS: I love “Harlan County U.S.A.,” directed by Barbara Kopple. As a film it captivated me — and seeing it years ago I remember thinking, “Wow, this film was directed by a woman — maybe I could do that some day.”

W&H: How are you adjusting to life during the COVID-19 pandemic? Are you keeping creative, and if so, how? 

NS: The COVID pandemic, ironically, was good for my film. I found people who would not otherwise have been available who joined my team. I was lucky, as I was in post-production, so working together virtually with my team was not difficult. I am feeling very creative!

W&H: The film industry has a long history of underrepresenting people of color onscreen and behind the scenes and reinforcing — and creating — negative stereotypes. What actions do you think need to be taken to make Hollywood and/or the doc world more inclusive? 

NS: First, championing films that celebrate diversity and representation. Second, mentoring and educational programs that reach underserved communities.