Back to Tilicho

"Back to Tilicho is a poignant and joyous documentary film that explores the impact of trauma on identity, the power of nostalgia, and the bittersweet passage from youthful innocence into adulthood."

As a young woman prepares to get married, she becomes consumed with demons from her past. To reconnect with who she was before the trauma, she and her new husband walk 500 kilometers on the Great Himalaya Trail to a significant place from her youth: Lake Tilicho, one of the highest lakes in the world. But when faced with treacherous terrain, snow storms, near-death accidents, resurfacing repressed memories, and seemingly insurmountable barriers, she realizes that maybe she wasn't supposed to go back.

Sarah Charley & Maxime Hutinet

When she was in high school, Sarah Charley was featured in the documentary film Namaste Nepal. The experience opened her world, and she vowed that one day she would go back.

That day came in 2022, when Charley reconnected with Namaste Nepal mentor Tashi Ghale and embarked on an incredible journey through the Himalayas with her husband Maxime Hutinet and guide Rinji Sherpa. They were not planning to make a documentary, but as everything started to go awry, they realized they had a story to tell.

This intimate and emotional film has a runtime of 88 minutes and interweaves deeply personal interviews with extraordinary first-hand footage and archival clips from Namaste Nepal.