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Article by Emma Jane McNicol | Published June 16, 2011
Interview with Justin Peach, director of Lonely Pack
Below is an excerpt from an interview between writer Emma Jane McNicol and Justin Peach, German filmmaker and Director—along with Lisa Engelbach—of the 2009 documentary Lonely Pack. Lonely Pack screened as part of the Human Rights Arts and Film Festival (HRAFF) in Melbourne on Wednesday 18 May 2011. You can watch the film’s trailer here.
RN: Hi Justin, I’m happy to say that your film Lonely Pack packed out the Australian Centre for the Moving Image in Melbourne last night. I really appreciate you sharing your time with me today.
No Problem. Thank you for asking.
RN: Lonely Pack is a documentary about street kids in Kathmandu, Nepal. How did the film come about? Was a previous visit to Nepal inspiration for the film?
Lonely Pack is my graduation film for media-design studies at FH Mainz. I had been to Nepal for trekking as a tourist two times.
We were thinking about what we should make a documentary about and I remembered a story about a rickshaw boy that we had met in Kathmandu. But documentary shoots never go the way you expect. It all became different and we ended up hanging around the street kids in Thamel, Kathmandu.
RN: Have you explored similar issues with previous cinematic work?
Not really. Lonely Pack was my first feature film. I had been to Ecuador to make a film about animal trafficking for an NGO. That is where I noticed that making documentaries, filming and interviewing people is my passion …
RN: What are you currently working on?
Project Baby! I am a Daddy now. But of course Lisa and I want to follow up and make films in this league. We are thinking about different concepts, but it will be a long time until we can talk about the next film!
RN: How did you approach the kids and establish a relationship with them?
We were honest and fair from the first day. We didn’t give any money to make them do stuff for us. We really wanted to understand their daily life, so we just bummed around with them. We had time. The first two weeks we just stayed around “their” streets, playing football, wrestling and joking around without a camera. Then we gave them some QuickSnap cameras, so that they could also take pictures of us.
Slowly they got curious and also wanted to know who we are and what we do at home—if we are married and stuff. After three months, we were part of the pack and nobody bothered about the camera.
RN: Blockbuster films like Danny Boyle’s 2008 Slumdog Millionaire refer to the situation of homeless children in India. Lonely Pack made me realise that when it comes to the issue of homeless kids in neighbouring Nepal—we are probably much less aware. How prevalent is this issue? For example, were you in a position to choose one of many homeless groups to make your subject?
Yes, there are many kids on the streets of Kathmandu and other bigger Nepali cities. NGOs were estimating about 4000 street kids, which doesn’t mean that they are homeless or without any parents. Nepal is a very poor country and many kids have to contribute to the family income in any way [possible]. The Thamel kids, although, are the most hardcore street kids. They don’t work for money. They only beg and make a lot of money in tourist season. But they also get in contact with drugs, prostitution and violence on the streets. They were used to tourists, spoke some English and didn’t mind us filming their story. We met a lot of other kids during these months as well.
RN: Lonely Pack follows the gang for a 24-hour period. I was genuinely shocked by their stories and what they endure. For example, a majority of the group (aged as young as 10) considered themselves drug dependent and one of the boys relays a story of his friend being sexually assaulted by a tourist. It is suggested that he contracted HIV as a result of this incident. Is sex tourism a significant issue in Nepal?
YES! Prostitution and sexual abuse is a big problem. Not only by tourists but also by Nepali themselves. We heard many stories: mainly that children had been sold to brothels in India.
It is a subject that [really disgusts me], but it was and is important in the kids’ daily dilemma, so I had to include it in the film. But I have to admit that I didn’t research any further on this aspect.
RN: Now, I hope you don’t mind a personal admission. A few years back I was in Kathmandu and hung out with a group of street kids, and they were so much fun! To me, they seemed completely innocent (from drugs etc.) and just wanted to play and show off their break dancing skills! Lonely Pack did set a sinister cloud over my memories.
Did you set out to challenge the Western traveller’s short sightedness? Your film invited me to reconsider even my most positive/clean-cut memories of dealing with these disadvantaged kids.
Again, I recall a Danny Boyle film (or originally Alex Garland’s novel The Beach) in which the Western backpacking ideal of paradise is dramatised. How do you think we best deal with the issue of money as travellers who are confronted by street kids? Did you pay them for filming them?
You are right! They are a fun group of kids—up for any mischief! Their drug dependence is a peer pressure thing that they eventually can’t control anymore …
I wanted to show the situation in a neutral way. Everybody sees the film differently. Sure, the kids have a hard future, but they definitely know how to make the best of it. I don’t think Lonely Pack is a sad film. But when it all boils down, their chance of getting clean and living a normal life is almost impossible—and fast tourist money is one of the main reasons for that.
Yes, I think it is important to understand what happens in the hours, days and weeks when the kids are out there by themselves. If you give them money, it is almost for sure that they will use it for drugs. And it’s for sure that they won’t try to change their situation by themselves. They need professional help, love and time.
You can’t think you’re really helping by paying off your bad conscience! The good news is that there are many NGOs in Kathmandu trying to help. The coordination between them isn’t perfect, but they have some good ideas.
This is a gang of “bad boys”! I think these kids are missing love and parents that care. They are looking for fun and action with their friends and don’t bother about school or jobs. You can find these kids anywhere! The only difference is that in Germany there are more safety nets and institutions that try to interfere ahead of time.
RN: Lonely Pack does not merely increase awareness on the issue of street kids in Nepal, but addresses the complexity of their situation.
On one hand, they run amok, liberated from parental control and they are young boys in the pursuit of fun. On the other hand, this freedom is so very limited and makes them so terribly vulnerable. They await the threats of disease, hunger, sexual abuse, violence … What is the biggest threat to these kids in your opinion?
Drugs, hopelessness and despair in believing in a better future, no matter what they will do or how hard they try!
RN: I read on your blog that one of the boys from the film has already died. Was it at age 16 from unknown causes?
I had to correct that post. Raju was found badly cut, recovering in a street kids’ shelter in Kathmandu. He has a very big psychological problem and cuts himself in his depressions. The shelter is trying to take care of him, but the other kids already had him signed off!
RN: One of the boys explained that he has family who offers him a home, but that he prefers to reside on the streets. What can be done to improve the lives of these kids?
I ask myself this question a lot and I have to admit that I don’t have a satisfying answer! I have decided for myself that I can’t change the world with any single action. I can only contribute with my passion—and that is making films. Maybe somebody sees what we wanted to show and comes up with a great new world order! Until now, I feel for them with my deepest respect!
RN: Thanks for your time and film, Justin. I look forward to seeing your next project.
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