Full Location Management & Fixer Services in Nepal
Location Management & Fixing Nepal
You Bring the Production. We Make Nepal Work.
Filming in Nepal can look simple from the outside.
A location on a map. A village in a photograph. A mountain in a brief. A festival on a calendar. A person someone has recommended. A road that appears to connect two places.
Then the production arrives.
The location is further than expected. The road is not a road anymore. The person speaks a different language. The permit belongs to another authority. The festival has changed its route. The weather has closed the pass. The vehicle cannot reach the location. The hotel cannot accommodate the crew. The helicopter needs a different operating plan. The camera team needs a place to park. The director wants another location before sunset.
This is where local production knowledge becomes invaluable.
Location Nepal provides location management, fixing and production support for international films, television productions, documentaries, commercials, photography assignments, editorial projects, research teams, universities and other productions working in Nepal.
We research.
We scout.
We call.
We negotiate.
We coordinate.
We find the people.
We find the places.
We understand the practical problems before they become production problems.
And when something changes, we find another way forward.
This is not simply about knowing Nepal.
It is about knowing how to make a production work here.
From Kathmandu to the Terai. From urban locations to remote villages. From the middle hills to the high Himalayas. From a single photographer to a major international production with multiple units, specialist equipment and demanding schedules.
Location management is where the map meets reality.
And that is where we work.
A Legacy Behind the Location
Location Management Is Built on Relationships
Location Nepal did not begin with a website, a list of services or a database of locations.
It grew out of decades of actually making productions happen in Nepal.
The story goes back more than five decades to Films & Adfilms, established by the late Gehendra Dhimal, whose work helped build an early bridge between Nepal and international film production. The production knowledge, relationships and practical understanding developed through those years became the foundation of the umbrella that continues today.
Alongside that legacy stands Prem Upadhya, our Line Producer and one of the people who helped shape the production discipline behind it. His understanding of scripts, budgets, crews, schedules, logistics and the realities of production has been part of the foundation for decades.
I grew up inside that world.
Not as an observer, but as someone who learned production by doing it.
That experience eventually grew into Location Nepal in 2009, expanding the family's production legacy into a dedicated service for international productions coming to Nepal.
Since then, the work has taken us from advertising and television to feature films, documentaries, fashion productions, photography and some remarkably complicated shoots in places where a production plan can change simply because the mountain decides it will.
We have worked with productions connected to organisations and brands including Disney, FX, BBC One, Channel 4, Coca Cola, Panasonic, Vicks, Nippon Paint, Samsonite, Doosan, Kellogg's, Nestea and many others.
The projects themselves tell the story.
A Chinese feature film with almost 250 Chinese cast and crew, more than 50 Indian crew and over 300 Nepalese crew, supported by hundreds of extras.
A Panasonic production that required moving one of the world's largest televisions into the Himalayas by helicopter.
A Powerade FIFA World Cup commercial that involved building a football field on a remote Himalayan plateau with more than 550 people involved in the production.
A Nippon Paint campaign that brought together two UNESCO sites, 400 extras, elephants and more than 200 crew in a single day.
Black Narcissus, where mountain locations, trails and sets had to be transformed into a believable cinematic world.
A Nestea commercial involving real Buddhist monks, a vending machine and a journey through villages, fields and mountains.
Vicks Road to Relief, requiring production coordination across the Indo Nepal border and into the Himalayas.
And then there are the countless productions that never became famous names but taught us something equally valuable: how Nepal actually works when the schedule is tight, the location is remote and something inevitably goes wrong.
That is the experience behind Location Nepal.
We do not claim to know every answer.
We know how to find them.
We know who to call.
We know when a plan needs to change.
We know that the person who solves tomorrow's problem may be someone you met twenty years ago.
And we know that sometimes the most important part of location management is simply being there, understanding what is happening and making the next decision quickly.
Decades of production create something that cannot be downloaded.
Relationships. Trust. Local knowledge. Experience.
That is what we bring to your production.
When a Feature Film Brings Hundreds of People to Nepal
Up in the Wind and the Reality of Large Scale Production
One of the clearest ways to understand location management is to look at what happens when a production becomes too large for simple fixing.
Up in the Wind, a Chinese feature film, brought an enormous international production operation into Nepal. The shoot involved almost 250 Chinese cast and crew, more than 50 Indian crew and more than 300 Nepalese crew, along with hundreds of extras.
At that scale, finding a beautiful location is only the beginning.
The production moved between rural and urban environments and required access to locations that were not simply available because they looked right on a location photograph. Permissions, transport, accommodation, crew movement, equipment and local coordination all had to work together.
Location Nepal was involved in making that operation possible on the ground.
Equipment arrived through multiple entry points, including the China Nepal border, the India Nepal border and Tribhuvan International Airport. Cameras, lenses, lighting and grip equipment had to be cleared, transported and made available to the production when and where they were needed.
The production also involved constructing substantial sets in restricted locations.
That meant the location team was no longer simply finding places for the director to photograph.
It was helping turn those places into functioning production environments.
Hundreds of Nepalese crew members had to work alongside international cast and technicians. Local technicians had to integrate with an international production structure. Vehicles, equipment, locations and people had to keep moving according to a schedule that could not simply wait for Nepal to become convenient.
This is the less glamorous side of international filmmaking, but it is often what determines whether a production succeeds.
A location manager needs to understand the location.
A fixer needs to understand the people.
A production team needs to understand the paperwork.
A line producer needs to understand the budget.
And someone needs to see how all of those things affect each other.
That is where experience matters.
The scale of Up in the Wind also demonstrates something important about filming in Nepal.
The country can support productions far larger and more complex than a small foreign crew arriving with a few cameras.
But the infrastructure, geography and local systems require the production to be intelligently managed.
The job is not to make Nepal behave like another country.
The job is to understand Nepal well enough to make the production work here.
That is what location management becomes when the location is an entire country.
When the Location Was Jomsom and the Equipment Was a Television
The Panasonic VIERA Production
Some location problems begin with a simple creative idea that becomes complicated the moment you try to execute it in Nepal.
For Panasonic VIERA, the production wanted to take one of the world's largest televisions into the Himalayas and film it in Jomsom. On paper, the location was extraordinary. In practice, getting a large and delicate piece of television equipment from Kathmandu to a mountain location presented an entirely different production challenge.
The television could not simply be loaded into an ordinary production vehicle and driven up.
It had to be handled carefully, transported through difficult terrain and ultimately flown by helicopter to its location in Jomsom. The logistics had to consider the size and fragility of the equipment, the mountain environment, the available transport and the timing of the shoot.
This is the kind of assignment where location management extends well beyond identifying a place.
The location determines the transport.
The transport determines the equipment plan.
The equipment determines the handling requirements.
The handling requirements affect the schedule.
The schedule affects the crew, the aircraft and the entire production budget.
A decision made at the location scouting stage can therefore affect almost every department of a production.
Our role was to help make those pieces work together so that the creative idea could actually reach the mountain.
It is an experience that illustrates something we have learned repeatedly over decades of production in Nepal: the most difficult part of a location is sometimes everything that has to happen before the camera arrives.
For an international production, that practical knowledge can make the difference between a spectacular idea on a treatment document and a spectacular image on screen.
What Happens When 550 People Need to Film on a Himalayan Plateau?
The Powerade Production
In 2006, Coca Cola Germany brought an ambitious idea to Nepal for a Powerade FIFA World Cup commercial. The fictional setting was an imaginary country called Skorgolia, and the creative called for an international football match in a remote Himalayan landscape. There were no roads to the location, only foot trails and air access. So the production had to build the location it needed.
More than 550 people eventually camped at the site for more than a week. The production brought 54 European football players, 12 African United players, hundreds of Nepali A and B Division footballers and 350 extras. An international crew worked alongside a large Nepalese team, while cameras, grip and support equipment, food and other supplies moved in and out by helicopter.
Then there was the environment. The field was built on a high plateau beside a cliff, with constant snowfall. Every morning the crew sometimes had to dig their way out of their tents. Sleeping bags, hot water bags, oxygen, electrolytes, medical support and continuous monitoring became part of the production infrastructure rather than optional extras. Doctors, nurses and paramedics remained on site, while a backup production team was kept ready in Kathmandu in case altitude related illness required additional support.
The football ground itself was not there waiting for us. A team of almost 100 people built an international standard field in just 11 days before filming began. The production also had to account for hundreds of extras travelling for days to reach the location, specialist football talent, aviation logistics, extreme weather and the movement of an enormous amount of equipment and supplies.
This is what location management looks like when the location is remote enough that there is no convenient backup plan.
There is no production truck arriving in twenty minutes because something was forgotten.
There is no nearby equipment house if a piece of equipment fails.
There is no hospital around the corner.
There is no road for the catering vehicle.
Every decision made in Kathmandu can eventually become a decision made at altitude.
The production therefore had to think several steps ahead: where people would sleep, how they would eat, how equipment would arrive, how medical support would work, how people would move, how the set would be built and how everyone would get back out again.
That experience remains one of the clearest examples of the kind of production thinking behind Location Nepal today.
The creative idea was extraordinary.
The production challenge was even bigger.
And the job was to make the two meet.
Read Gautam Dhimal's full account of the Powerade production
When a Location Has to Become Something Else
Black Narcissus and Building the Himalayas Around the Story
For Black Narcissus, the challenge was not simply finding a Himalayan location that looked right.
The production needed the location to become part of the story.
Working with Disney, FX and BBC One, Location Nepal supported the Nepal production of the 2020 television mini series, filmed across the Himalayas. What began as remote mountain terrain had to be transformed into a functioning period film environment.
Entire structures were built from scratch, including Mr. Dean's house and a working market square. Access to one of the principal locations presented another problem. Roads and trails did not already exist in the form required by the production, so rugged trails were constructed and mountain roads carved to allow cast, crew, equipment and animals to reach a palace location positioned high along a cliff.
That is a very different kind of location management.
You are no longer asking, “Where can we film this?”
You are asking, “What does this place need to become before we can film this?”
The production also worked around real monastery environments, where the requirements of an international television production had to coexist with active cultural and religious spaces. Working alongside monks required sensitivity, while the costumes, props and physical environments had to support the early twentieth century setting of the story.
Then came the realities of working in the Himalayas.
Vehicles could not reach every part of the set, so horses, donkeys and mules became part of the production transport system. Equipment and materials had to move through terrain where conventional production logistics simply did not apply. Health and safety required paramedics, doctors and nurses on site, along with a fully equipped mini hospital and a standby helicopter for emergency evacuation.
And when filming was finished, the work was not finished.
The structures and temporary installations had to be dismantled and the landscape returned to the condition in which it was found. That responsibility matters particularly when working in remote and culturally significant environments.
This project is a useful example of why we treat location management as much more than location scouting.
A location manager has to understand the physical place, but also the people, permissions, construction, transport, environment, safety and schedule surrounding it. A fixer needs relationships and local knowledge. A production manager needs to see how all of those moving parts affect one another.
On a production like Black Narcissus, all of those responsibilities meet in the same place.
The result may look effortless on screen.
Getting there was anything but.
What Does a Location Manager Actually Do in Nepal?
Long Before the First Shot, Someone Has to Make the Location Work
A director may arrive with a photograph, a scene, a storyboard or simply an idea: an old palace, a Himalayan village, a road through the Terai, a monastery above the clouds, a crowded festival or a landscape that has to look a certain way at a particular time of day. Our work begins by turning that creative requirement into something a production can actually reach, access, operate in and film.
That means knowing far more than where a place is.
We need to understand how to get there, who controls access, who lives there, what permissions are required, where the crew can stay, where vehicles can go, where equipment can be loaded and unloaded, whether there is power, how the weather behaves, what happens when hundreds of people arrive and what alternatives exist if the original plan changes.
Sometimes the location is already known. Sometimes it has to be discovered from a few words in a script. Sometimes the brief comes from a photograph taken somewhere else in the world and we have to find the closest practical equivalent in Nepal. Sometimes the most interesting answer is a place that nobody on the international production team has heard of before.
We begin with the story and work backwards into the practicalities.
We research the region, speak with people who know the area, identify possibilities, visit locations, photograph and document them, assess access and start building the production picture around each option. A location is considered not only for what the camera sees but for everything happening outside the frame.
How long does it take to reach?
Can the camera vehicle get there?
Where does the crew park?
Where does the generator go?
Can lighting equipment be carried in?
Where can a large crew eat?
Can the location accommodate a base?
Who needs to give permission?
Are there communities, religious institutions or private owners involved?
What happens if it rains?
What happens if the road closes?
What happens if the director wants to stay another day?
These questions become increasingly important as the production moves away from Kathmandu.
Nepal changes dramatically across relatively short distances. A location in the Kathmandu Valley has a completely different set of production considerations from one in the middle hills, the Terai or the high Himalayas. The road, altitude, climate, language, local administration, accommodation, communications and availability of equipment can all change with the geography.
Our job is to understand those differences before they reach the production schedule.
And because Location Nepal has been working within Nepal's production environment since 2009, backed by a family production legacy going back more than five decades, much of that knowledge comes from relationships and experience rather than information sitting on a map.
We know that the person who can open a gate may be more important than the gate itself.
We know that a road can look perfectly accessible until a production truck reaches it.
We know that a village that can accommodate a small documentary crew may not be able to accommodate a hundred people.
We know that a location can be visually perfect and operationally impossible.
And we know that sometimes the solution is simply finding another way.
That is what location management means to us.
Finding the place is the beginning. Making the place work is the job.
Location Scouting Across Nepal
The Best Location Is Not Always the Most Famous One
Nepal has locations that appear in almost every international search for filming here: Everest, Kathmandu, Pokhara, Mustang, ancient temples, mountain villages and the familiar Himalayan landscapes.
They are valuable, but they are only a fraction of what is available.
Over decades of working in Nepal, our location knowledge has grown through productions, photography assignments, travel, scouting and relationships with people across very different parts of the country. Many of the places we know are not the locations that appear first in an internet search, and that can be an advantage when a production is looking for something distinctive.
A director may need a Himalayan settlement that has not been photographed thousands of times. A commercial may need a road that can stand in for another country. A fashion production may need a landscape that combines dramatic terrain with practical access. A documentary may need a community rather than a landmark. A feature film may need several locations that can convincingly exist within the same fictional world.
We scout according to that requirement.
The search can begin with a script and move through maps, existing references, local knowledge and conversations with people who understand the area. It can also begin with something much less precise: a colour, an architectural style, a landscape, a period, a type of road, a particular community or a feeling the director wants the audience to experience.
Then comes the physical work.
We visit locations where necessary, photograph them from the angles that matter to the production, assess access and document the practical conditions around them. For more complex assignments, the scout becomes a production study covering transport, accommodation, equipment movement, crew access, power, communications, permissions, weather and contingency options.
Nepal's geography makes this particularly important.
A location that appears close on a map may involve a long road journey followed by a walk. A mountain location may be accessible only during a particular season. A beautiful valley may have limited accommodation. A remote village may have exactly the architecture required but no space for a large unit. The most spectacular viewpoint may not be the most useful camera position.
These are things that become clear when someone who understands production looks at the location.
Our scouting therefore does not end with a folder of pretty photographs.
We want the production team to understand what the location looks like, where it is, how it can be reached, what it may require and what the implications are before they commit to it.
And if the first location does not work, we keep looking.
Because Nepal is much larger, more diverse and more visually varied than the locations most people already know.
Sometimes the location you need is not the one everyone is already looking for.
Fixing in Nepal Is About Knowing Who to Call
The Right Introduction Can Open the Right Door
A production can have the perfect location and still be unable to film there.
Perhaps the property belongs to someone who is not listed anywhere online. Perhaps a village needs to understand why an international crew wants to work there. Perhaps a religious institution has its own rules. Perhaps a local authority needs to be approached before filming can begin. Perhaps the production needs a specialist, a driver, a translator, a community representative or simply someone who knows the road beyond the last signpost.
This is where fixing becomes important.
Much of the work is built around relationships that have developed through years of working in Nepal. Producers, local authorities, communities, location owners, drivers, technicians, guides, accommodation providers, specialists and people with very specific knowledge can become part of the production network when the assignment requires them.
We do not maintain relationships simply to have a long contact list.
The value is knowing which relationship is relevant to which problem.
A documentary team looking for a particular community may need a completely different introduction from a commercial production seeking permission to film at a historic site. A feature film looking for an unusual location may need someone who knows the area personally. A photographer working in a remote region may need a local guide who understands both the terrain and the people. A large production may need dozens of local contacts working simultaneously across different departments.
Sometimes the job is negotiating access.
Sometimes it is explaining the production.
Sometimes it is translating more than language.
International crews and local communities can have very different expectations about time, privacy, working methods, equipment, crowds and what it means to have a camera present. Someone has to understand both sides and keep the relationship constructive.
That is one of the reasons local knowledge cannot simply be replaced by an online search.
A search engine can tell you where a village is.
A person who has worked there may know who you should speak to before you arrive.
A map can show you a road.
A local contact may tell you that the road is unusable after a particular rainfall.
A website can give you the name of an institution.
A relationship can tell you how to approach it properly.
This network has grown through the work of Films & Adfilms, through Location Nepal since 2009 and through decades of personal and professional relationships built by the people behind the company.
For an international production, that network becomes part of the production infrastructure.
Sometimes the most important location resource is not a place. It is a person who knows how to get you there.
Access, Permissions and Local Approvals
Knowing Where You Can Film Is Only Half the Question
Every location comes with its own set of people, institutions and practical conditions. A public street, a private property, a temple, a monastery, a heritage site, a village, a forest, a restricted mountain area and a large public event can all require very different approaches to filming.
For an international production, understanding those requirements before the crew arrives can save days of uncertainty and prevent avoidable problems on location.
Location Nepal can research and coordinate the permissions, approvals and local access requirements relevant to an assignment, working with the appropriate authorities, organisations, communities, property owners and local representatives as required.
The process can begin during the first location discussion. Once we understand what the production wants to film, where it wants to work and how large the operation will be, we can start identifying the people and institutions that need to be involved.
That might mean a municipality for a street shoot, a property owner for a private location, a religious institution for a temple or monastery, a community representative for filming within a village, or the relevant authority for a restricted or environmentally sensitive area.
The scale of the production matters too.
A photographer travelling with one camera has very different requirements from a commercial production bringing vehicles, lighting, generators, hundreds of extras and a large international crew. A documentary team working quietly in a community needs a different approach from a feature film occupying a location for several weeks.
We therefore do not treat permissions as a standard checklist.
They are part of the location research itself.
Where a production involves foreign crews, imported equipment, drones, helicopters, restricted areas, large public gatherings or other specialised activities, additional permissions and coordination may be required. These requirements can change according to the location and nature of the assignment, so they need to be established early rather than discovered on the first morning of the shoot.
There is also a human side to access.
A permit may make filming legally possible, but a good local relationship can determine whether the production actually works comfortably in that environment. Communities need to understand what is happening. Religious spaces may have protocols. Property owners may have concerns. Local people may need to know how long the crew will remain and what the production involves.
That is where fixing, location management and production experience come together.
We help the production understand not only whether it can film somewhere, but how it should approach filming there.
And when the answer is no, we would rather know before the cameras arrive.
Good access is planned. It is not assumed.
Production Logistics Across Nepal
Getting a Crew to the Location Is a Production in Itself
Nepal can compress enormous differences in geography, infrastructure and travel time into a relatively small area. A production may begin in Kathmandu with an international crew, equipment and vehicles, then move through cities, villages, mountain roads, airstrips and walking trails before reaching the place where the camera finally starts rolling.
Every part of that journey has to work.
Location Nepal can coordinate the practical movement of productions across Nepal, from transport and accommodation to equipment movement, local crew, catering, communications and field support. The requirements are assessed around the actual production rather than fitted into a standard package.
A small documentary crew may need a four wheel drive, a driver who knows the area and simple accommodation close to the story.
A commercial may require multiple vehicles, generators, lighting and grip equipment, local technicians, hundreds of extras and carefully timed movements between several locations.
A feature film may involve entire departments, construction materials, specialist equipment, cast movement, accommodation blocks and transport operating simultaneously across different parts of the country.
The logistics change completely with the scale.
Remote locations introduce another layer. There may be no equipment rental facility nearby, no reliable electricity, limited mobile coverage and very few options if something essential has been left behind. That is why remote production planning often means taking more with you than you think you will need and establishing alternatives before leaving the last major town.
For mountain productions, altitude and weather become part of the logistics plan. Travel cannot always be treated as a simple journey from point A to point B. Vehicles may have limitations, roads can change, flights can be affected by weather and walking time can become a significant part of the schedule.
We have worked on productions where equipment has crossed international borders, travelled by road, been flown by helicopter and carried by people and animals into locations inaccessible to conventional vehicles.
The Powerade production required an entire football field to be built on a remote Himalayan plateau, with more than 550 people involved and equipment and supplies moving by helicopter. Panasonic required a huge television to reach Jomsom by helicopter. Black Narcissus required construction, animals, mountain access and substantial crew and equipment movement around remote locations. Up in the Wind involved hundreds of international and Nepalese cast and crew alongside equipment arriving through multiple border and airport entry points.
Those productions are very different from one another.
The common requirement is that someone has to understand how all the pieces connect.
Where should the crew stay?
Which vehicles can actually reach the location?
What equipment needs to travel from Kathmandu?
What should be sourced locally?
What needs to be brought from abroad?
How much time should the journey really take?
What happens if the road is blocked?
Where does the production base operate?
Where can the equipment be stored?
Where can the crew eat, rest and recharge?
These questions may never appear in the final frame.
They are still part of getting the frame.
Good logistics are largely invisible on screen. That is usually a sign that they worked.
Bringing Production Equipment Into Nepal
Cameras Are Easy to Plan Until They Cross a Border
International productions rarely arrive with just a camera bag. Depending on the assignment, the equipment can include cinema cameras, lenses, lighting, grip, sound equipment, generators, drones, specialist rigs, vehicles and equipment that simply cannot be replaced locally if something goes wrong.
Getting all of that into Nepal, through the right channels and back out again, becomes part of the production plan.
Location Nepal can help international productions plan and coordinate the local logistics associated with bringing production equipment into the country, including customs processes, border movements, transportation and delivery to the production location, according to the equipment and the requirements of the assignment.
This becomes particularly important for large productions.
For Up in the Wind, equipment arrived through multiple entry points, including the China Nepal border, the India Nepal border and Tribhuvan International Airport. Cameras, lenses, lighting and grip equipment had to move through different logistical routes and still arrive where the production needed them.
That is very different from simply arranging a camera rental.
The production needs to know what is coming, when it is arriving, where it is going, how it will move from the point of entry to the location and what happens if the schedule changes.
For remote productions, the consequences of getting this wrong become even greater. If a critical piece of equipment is sitting at the wrong border while the crew is already at altitude, there may be no practical way to solve the problem quickly.
That is why equipment logistics begin before the equipment leaves its country of origin.
We look at the production schedule, the equipment list, the entry point, the destination and the onward movement so that the equipment plan fits the location plan.
The same thinking applies when equipment has to move between locations inside Nepal. A production may begin with a full equipment package in Kathmandu, then split equipment between units, move specialist gear by road or air and eventually carry selected equipment into places where vehicles cannot go.
Sometimes the best solution is to bring everything.
Sometimes it makes more sense to source certain equipment locally.
Sometimes the answer is a combination of both.
The decision depends on what the production is trying to achieve, where it is filming and how much risk there is in being without a particular piece of equipment.
For an international production, equipment logistics are location logistics.
We help make sure the two are planned together.
Building the Local Production Team
International Crews Work Better When the Local Team Understands Them
A production coming to Nepal may arrive with its director, cinematographer, producer and department heads already in place. What it cannot realistically bring from overseas is every person it will need to make the production function locally.
Drivers, production assistants, fixers, location assistants, technicians, art department support, runners, translators, local guides, construction teams, extras and other specialists may all become necessary once the real requirements of the shoot are understood.
Location Nepal can help build and coordinate the local team around the production.
The starting point is not simply a list of available people. It is understanding what the international production expects from its local crew and what the location actually requires.
A small documentary may need only a fixer, driver, translator and local assistant.
A commercial may need production coordinators, location assistants, art department support, electricians, drivers, crowd management and hundreds of extras.
A feature film can require a much larger structure, with Nepalese crew working alongside international heads of department across production, camera, lighting, grip, art, costume, locations, transport and other departments.
This is where experience with international productions becomes important. Local crew need to understand the working culture, expectations and pace of an international set, while the visiting team needs to understand how things work locally.
The two sides have to become one production.
That integration was particularly important on Up in the Wind, where hundreds of Nepalese crew worked alongside almost 250 Chinese cast and crew and more than 50 Indian crew. The scale required much more than simply finding people to fill positions. It required coordination across languages, departments, schedules and very different production environments.
The same principle applies on smaller productions.
A good local driver can become part of the location team because they know the roads and timing.
A local fixer may know a community that does not appear in any production database.
A technician may know how to solve a problem with equipment in conditions that would be unfamiliar to a visiting crew.
A local assistant may notice something the international team simply cannot see.
These are practical advantages that develop through working together repeatedly.
And when the production needs something very specific, we look for the right person rather than assuming that one crew structure fits every project.
The result should feel seamless to the visiting production.
They should be able to concentrate on the creative work while the local team understands what needs to happen around them.
The best local crew does not simply know Nepal. They know what a production needs from Nepal.
Remote and High Altitude Production in Nepal
When the Location Is Beyond the Road
Some of Nepal's most extraordinary locations are also the places where ordinary production planning stops working.
A road may end several hours before the location. A vehicle may need to be replaced by a porter, mule or helicopter. Weather can change the day's plan without warning. Altitude can affect how quickly people can work. There may be no reliable power, no nearby medical facility and no easy way to bring forgotten equipment back from Kathmandu.
These are not reasons to avoid remote locations. They are reasons to plan them differently.
Location Nepal has decades of experience working with productions that take people and equipment well beyond conventional production environments. Our planning can include route research, acclimatisation considerations, transport, accommodation, local crew, porters and pack animals, helicopter coordination, communications, power, medical support, emergency planning and contingency arrangements.
The exact requirements depend on the location and the production, but the principle remains the same: the further a production moves from normal infrastructure, the more carefully everything has to be considered before departure.
Our experience includes productions where entire sets and large quantities of equipment had to reach remote Himalayan locations, as well as photography and film assignments conducted at high altitude.
The Powerade production is one example. More than 550 people spent more than a week on a remote Himalayan plateau while an international standard football field was constructed before filming. Equipment, food and other supplies had to move by helicopter, while medical personnel remained on site and contingency arrangements were established for altitude related emergencies.
Black Narcissus presented another set of challenges, with remote construction, mountain access, animals, substantial equipment movement and dedicated medical and emergency arrangements around the production.
For smaller crews, the same principles apply on a different scale. A documentary team travelling into a remote valley may not need a helicopter or a field hospital, but it still needs to know where it will sleep, where it can charge batteries, how long the journey actually takes, what happens if the weather closes the route and who can help if the plan changes.
That practical assessment is part of our location work.
We also believe that safety should be considered during the creative planning stage, not added after the location has already been selected. The most beautiful location is not necessarily the right location if the production cannot operate there safely or responsibly.
For every remote assignment, we look at the realities surrounding the image.
How do people get there? How does equipment get there? How long can they work there? And how do they get home?
Those questions belong in the location plan from the beginning.
When the Plan Changes
Production Rarely Follows the Plan Exactly
A road can close. A location can become unavailable. A permit can take longer than expected. Weather can change. A flight can be cancelled. An important person can suddenly become unavailable. Equipment can arrive late. A director can see a new possibility during the scout and decide that the original plan is no longer the right one.
These things are part of production.
What matters is how quickly and intelligently the team can respond.
Location Nepal's role often continues after the original plan has been approved. We stay connected to the locations, people, transport, permissions and local suppliers involved in the production so that when something changes, we can start looking for an answer rather than simply reporting the problem.
Sometimes the solution is straightforward.
Sometimes it requires changing the route, finding another location, bringing in another vehicle, changing the schedule, moving equipment differently or finding another local contact.
Sometimes the original idea has to be redesigned around what is actually possible.
That is why local knowledge matters so much in Nepal. A production problem that looks complicated from another country may have a relatively simple local solution if you know who to call and understand how the system works. Equally, something that appears simple on paper can become extremely difficult once the crew is standing in front of it.
Years of production experience teach you to look beyond the immediate problem.
If a road is blocked, what does that do to the call time?
If the location moves, what happens to the lighting plan?
If the weather changes, where can the crew work instead?
If the schedule slips by six hours, which other departments are affected?
If a location becomes unavailable, what alternative can still give the director the visual language of the original?
The earlier those questions are considered, the more options remain available.
This is one of the reasons we prefer to be involved early rather than called only when something has already gone wrong. A good local production partner should understand the intended plan well enough to recognise the consequences when one part of it changes.
Our job is not to promise that nothing will go wrong.
No production can make that promise.
Our job is to be prepared when it does.
That comes from experience, relationships, local knowledge and the habit of looking for solutions rather than excuses.
Plans are important. So is knowing what to do when the plan changes.
One Country, Extraordinary Variety
From the Himalayas to the Terai, Nepal Changes With the Landscape
Nepal is often presented internationally through a small collection of familiar images: Everest, prayer flags, ancient temples, mountain villages and Kathmandu's historic streets. Those images are real, but they represent only a fraction of the country available to a production.
The geography changes dramatically from north to south, and so do the architecture, climate, landscapes, communities and ways of life.
The high Himalayas offer snow covered peaks, glacial valleys, high altitude settlements, ancient monasteries and some of the most extreme landscapes on the planet. Further south, the middle hills bring terraced farmland, forests, ridges, rivers, traditional settlements and roads that wind through an entirely different Nepal.
The Kathmandu Valley brings centuries of architecture and living heritage alongside dense urban environments and contemporary city life. Further south, the landscape opens into the Terai, with forests, plains, wetlands, agricultural communities, border towns and cultural environments unlike those of the mountains.
Between these broad regions are hundreds of variations.
That diversity matters when a director is searching for a particular visual world.
A production looking for a Himalayan setting does not necessarily need Everest. A story set in South Asia may require a landscape that does not immediately reveal where it was filmed. A period production may need architecture and streets that can be dressed into another era. A documentary may be looking for a community, occupation, ritual or landscape rather than a famous landmark.
Nepal can offer all of these possibilities within one country.
It also means that location scouting here requires regional understanding. The practical conditions in the high mountains are very different from those in Kathmandu, just as the logistics of filming in the Terai can be completely different from working in a remote hill settlement.
Our network and production experience extend across these environments.
We can help productions explore locations according to the story rather than simply directing them towards the places already familiar to tourists.
That distinction can make a significant difference.
The most recognisable location is not always the most useful one.
Sometimes the best location is the one that gives the production exactly what it needs without looking like every other film made in Nepal.
For productions willing to look beyond the obvious, Nepal is much bigger than its postcard.
Two UNESCO Sites, 400 Extras and One Day
When a Production Has No Room to Lose Time
Some productions are difficult because they take place in places that are difficult to reach. Others are difficult because everything has to happen at once.
Nippon Paint's “What Color Are You?” campaign was one of those productions.
The brief brought together Nepal's colour, movement and cultural energy for an international television commercial, with filming taking place at two UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The production involved more than 200 crew, around 400 extras and elephants, all within an exceptionally tight schedule.
A shoot of that scale cannot simply arrive at a heritage site and start filming.
There are permissions to coordinate, locations to prepare, people to move, vehicles to position, departments to synchronise and a large number of participants who all have to be in the right place at the right time. Add elephants, public spaces and locations with cultural significance, and the production becomes a carefully choreographed operation.
The challenge was to preserve the character of the locations while creating enough space and control for a large commercial production to operate.
Crowd movement had to be managed. Local coordination had to happen alongside the international production team. The schedule had to account for moving between locations while still delivering the visual material required by the creative.
And because the production was built around colour and celebration, the locations themselves were not simply backgrounds. They were part of the visual language of the commercial.
This is where local production knowledge becomes particularly valuable.
A production team arriving from overseas may know exactly what it wants to capture.
Our role is to understand what that requires from Nepal.
Which location can accommodate it?
Who needs to be involved?
What needs to happen before the crew arrives?
How can hundreds of people be moved without losing the shooting schedule?
What restrictions apply to the location?
Where can equipment and vehicles be positioned?
How can the production achieve scale without losing control of the environment?
These questions are often invisible in the finished commercial.
They are nevertheless what makes the finished commercial possible.
The Nippon Paint production is a useful example of another side of Location Nepal's work. We are not only a partner for productions travelling into remote mountains. We work with international productions in historic cities, cultural locations, public spaces and complex urban environments as well.
Nepal's most important locations often come with responsibilities as well as visual possibilities.
The bigger the production, the more carefully the location has to be managed.
Research Before the Scout
Sometimes the Production Needs Answers Before It Needs a Location
A script can describe a place without naming it. A documentary can begin with a question rather than a location. A director may have a visual reference from another country. A producer may know the region but not know what is realistically accessible. A writer may be searching for a setting, community, tradition or landscape that has never appeared in their production research.
This is where local research can save a production a great deal of time.
Location Nepal can research locations, communities, cultural environments, architecture, landscapes, access routes, seasonal conditions, local practices, production possibilities and practical considerations before a formal recce is organised.
The research can be as focused or as exploratory as the project requires.
Perhaps the production needs a nineteenth century looking settlement.
Perhaps a documentary is looking for a particular occupation or community.
Perhaps a feature film needs a landscape that could convincingly represent another country.
Perhaps a photographer wants to discover locations that have not already become familiar editorial imagery.
Perhaps the director has only a reference image and wants to know whether anything comparable exists in Nepal.
The first stage is understanding what the creative team is actually looking for.
From there, our local knowledge and network can help narrow the possibilities.
Research may involve maps, archives, local contacts, existing production knowledge, regional specialists and conversations with people who know the area. When necessary, it develops into a physical scout and a more detailed location assessment.
This approach can also be useful long before a production is greenlit.
A producer may want to know whether an idea is possible in Nepal before putting it into a budget. A director may want to understand what Nepal could offer before adapting a screenplay. A documentary team may want to identify potential subjects before committing to an international shoot.
We can begin at that stage too.
There is enormous value in knowing what is possible before making expensive decisions.
A few days of research can sometimes prevent weeks of unnecessary travel.
A local conversation can sometimes reveal a location that would never appear in an online search.
And a realistic assessment can sometimes tell a production that its original idea needs to change before the crew arrives.
Good production decisions often begin with better questions.
Our job is to help find the answers before they become expensive ones.
Fixing for Documentaries, Editorial and Journalism
When the Story Depends on Getting Beyond the Obvious
A documentary crew does not always know what the final story will be when it arrives. A journalist may have a subject but still need to find the people who can make that subject meaningful. A photographer may know the image they want but not yet know where that image exists.
Nepal rewards that kind of curiosity.
Location Nepal can support documentary filmmakers, journalists, editorial teams, photographers and broadcasters with research, location scouting, local introductions, access, translation, transport, field logistics and production coordination across the country.
The work can begin before the crew arrives.
We can help identify communities, landscapes, cultural practices, environmental stories, people and places relevant to the editorial brief, then develop the practical route around what the production actually wants to discover.
This is particularly important outside Kathmandu, where the most interesting story may be several hours from the nearest major road and the person who can explain it may not have an online presence at all.
A local introduction can change an entire assignment.
It can lead to a community that was not in the original research. It can reveal a person with a story nobody else has documented. It can open access to a place that would otherwise remain outside the production's reach.
But documentary and editorial work also requires restraint.
Not every place should be treated simply as a filming location. Communities have their own rhythms, sensitivities and expectations. Religious spaces have protocols. People may need time to understand why a foreign crew is interested in their lives. The production has to work with people rather than simply arrive and take from the place.
That is why fixing is not only about getting access.
It is about helping the production enter a place appropriately.
Gautam Dhimal's work as a journalist, photographer, cinematographer and producer adds another perspective to this process. The understanding of the image and the understanding of the story do not have to sit in separate departments.
We can look at the practical requirements of the shoot while understanding why the production is there in the first place.
For international editorial teams, that can mean one local partner helping connect the dots between research, people, locations, logistics and the final image.
From a major broadcaster looking for a national story to a photographer following a single subject into a remote valley, the scale can change completely.
The principle does not.
Get beyond the obvious. Find the story. And make sure the production can reach it.
Working With Communities
A Location Is Also Someone's Home
A production may see a village, monastery, neighbourhood, farm or cultural site as a location. The people who live there see it as their home, workplace, place of worship or community.
That difference matters.
When filming takes place within living communities, Location Nepal helps productions understand the people and local structures involved before the cameras arrive. Access may involve property owners, community representatives, local authorities, religious institutions, families or other people whose cooperation is essential to the shoot.
The practical side can be straightforward when handled early. The more important part is often understanding how the production should approach the community.
How many people are coming?
What exactly will they be doing?
How long will they remain?
Will vehicles enter the community?
Will there be lights, generators, loud sound or crowds?
Are there religious or cultural practices that need to be respected?
Are people being filmed as background participants, extras, contributors or subjects?
What does the community need to know before filming begins?
These questions become particularly important when international productions enter places that have little or no previous experience with foreign film crews.
Our role can include explaining the production locally, coordinating access, helping establish expectations and maintaining communication between the production and the community throughout the assignment.
This is also where long term relationships become valuable.
A person who knows a village, monastery or community personally can often explain things that no permit or location photograph will tell you. They can help the production understand when to arrive, who should be approached first, what may be sensitive and how to avoid unnecessary disruption.
The objective is not simply to obtain permission and move on.
A successful shoot should leave the relationship intact.
That becomes even more important when a production returns to the same region, works with the same community again or wants to tell stories about people whose lives continue long after the cameras leave.
Nepal's diversity is one of its greatest strengths for filmmakers. But that diversity also deserves care.
We believe the best productions do not merely take something from a place.
They build enough understanding and respect to be welcomed into it.
Good access begins with respect for the people who make a place what it is.
When the Location Needs to Be Reached From the Air
Helicopters, Aerial Access and Hard to Reach Locations
Some locations in Nepal are difficult to reach by road. Others are technically accessible but make little sense to reach that way when a production has a tight schedule, heavy equipment or a large crew.
For the right assignment, aviation can change what is possible.
Location Nepal can help productions assess and coordinate helicopter and aerial access as part of the wider location and production plan, including route planning, landing requirements, equipment movement, crew movement and coordination with the relevant aviation and local authorities.
The decision to fly is never simply a question of finding a helicopter.
The location has to be suitable. The aircraft has to be appropriate. Weather and altitude have to be considered. Weight, equipment and passenger requirements have to be understood. Landing or drop off arrangements need to be established. The production schedule has to allow for the realities of mountain aviation.
This is particularly important when the helicopter is carrying more than people.
A camera package, lighting equipment, generators, construction materials or a large piece of specialist equipment can change the entire aviation plan.
We have experienced this first hand on productions such as Panasonic VIERA, where a huge television had to be transported by helicopter to Jomsom, and on the Powerade production, where equipment, food and supplies had to reach a remote Himalayan plateau supporting a production of more than 550 people.
Aerial access can also become part of the creative plan.
Nepal's mountains, valleys, rivers, cities and remote settlements can offer extraordinary possibilities for aerial photography and cinematography. But getting the aircraft into the right place and getting the camera into the right position are separate production questions, and both need to be considered from the beginning.
For drone work, the same principle applies. Permissions, operating conditions, location restrictions, weather, safety and the requirements of the production all need to be assessed before an aerial unit is deployed.
Our experience with aerial photography and production goes back many years, including aerial work in demanding Himalayan environments. That background helps us approach aviation not simply as a transport solution but as another part of the production design.
Sometimes the helicopter is carrying the crew.
Sometimes it is carrying the equipment.
Sometimes it is simply the only practical connection between the production and the location.
When the road ends, production planning does not.
From First Conversation to Final Wrap
One Local Partner, From the First Recce to the Last Case Packed
An international production does not usually need ten different conversations with ten different people in Nepal. It needs someone who understands how the pieces fit together.
A production may begin with a script and a location question. From there it can develop into research, scouting, permits, local introductions, budgets, crew, transport, accommodation, equipment, customs, construction, aviation, safety and a shooting schedule. As the production develops, each decision affects another part of the plan.
Location Nepal can stay involved across that process.
We can begin while the project is still being researched, helping the production understand what Nepal can offer and what may be required to make the idea work. We can continue through location scouting and recce, develop the practical plan around the selected locations, coordinate access and permissions, organise local resources and prepare the ground for the international crew.
Once filming begins, the work becomes more immediate.
People need to be where they are supposed to be. Vehicles need to arrive when they are needed. Locations need to be ready. Equipment needs to move. Local teams need to coordinate with visiting departments. Communities need to remain informed. Weather and circumstances need to be watched. If something changes, somebody needs to start solving it.
And after the final shot, there is still work to do.
Equipment has to move back. Locations may need to be restored. Crews have to travel. Imported equipment may need to leave the country. Local suppliers and teams need to be settled. The production needs to close properly.
This continuity is one of the advantages of working with an established local production company rather than assembling a network of unrelated suppliers for every assignment.
The knowledge gathered during the scout stays with the production team.
The person who negotiated access can remain involved when the crew arrives.
The team that understands the route can help when transport changes.
The production managers who know the brief can make decisions without repeatedly asking an overseas producer to explain the entire project again.
That continuity becomes especially valuable when the production is large, remote or complicated.
Our history has taught us to look at the entire chain rather than one isolated task. Films & Adfilms established the production foundation more than five decades ago. Location Nepal expanded that experience into dedicated international production support in 2009. Since then, productions of very different sizes and origins have brought us very different problems to solve.
The places change.
The crews change.
The stories change.
The production principles remain.
Understand the brief. Know the ground. Build the relationships. Plan ahead. Stay close to the production. Solve what changes.
That is how we work from the first conversation to the final wrap.
The People Behind Location Nepal
A Production Legacy Built Over Generations
Location Nepal is built on more than fifteen years of dedicated work under its present identity and more than five decades of production experience behind it.
That story begins with Films & Adfilms, established by the late Gehendra Dhimal, whose production work helped establish an early bridge between Nepal and international film and advertising productions. The knowledge, relationships and production discipline developed through those years became the foundation from which Location Nepal grew.
Prem Upadhya, Location Nepal's Line Producer, has been another important part of that legacy. His decades of experience across scripts, budgets, production planning, crews and the practical realities of filmmaking in Nepal continue to inform how international productions are approached today.
Gautam Dhimal grew up within this production environment before developing his own career across photography, cinematography, journalism, film production, location management and international assignments. His work has taken him from the Himalayas to international productions around the world, bringing together an understanding of the creative process with the realities of production on the ground.
Location Nepal was established in 2009 as the next chapter of that production heritage.
The result is a company that combines an established local network with contemporary international production experience.
A director can discuss the visual requirement with someone who understands the camera.
A producer can discuss logistics with someone who understands the production budget and schedule.
A location requirement can be assessed by people who understand both what the place looks like and what it will take to film there.
That combination has been developed through decades of actual production rather than assembled as a service offering.
The people behind Location Nepal have worked through changing technologies, changing production models, changing expectations and changing Nepal. They have watched the country develop from a destination where international crews often had to solve problems from scratch into a place capable of supporting increasingly ambitious global productions.
The network has grown with that change.
So has the experience.
Today, Location Nepal brings together that history, local knowledge and international production understanding for productions arriving from around the world.
A production legacy is not something we put on a brochure. It is something we carry into the field.
Fixer, Location Manager or Full Production Partner?
Start With What the Production Actually Needs
Not every production coming to Nepal needs the same level of support.
A journalist travelling with a small camera kit may need a local fixer, driver, translator and introductions. A photographer may need location research, access and a local guide. A documentary team may need several weeks of research and field logistics before filming begins. A commercial production may require locations, permits, local crew, equipment, transport and full production coordination. A feature film can require an entire local production infrastructure.
Location Nepal can work at any of those levels.
A production can bring its own international team and use us for selected local requirements. We can be involved only in location scouting and fixing, or we can stay with the project through permits, logistics, crew and the shoot itself.
For larger productions, we can operate as the local production partner, coordinating the different departments and suppliers required to make the Nepal operation function as one unit.
That flexibility is important because the right level of support depends on the production.
We do not believe a small documentary should be forced into the structure of a large commercial production simply because that is how a company normally operates. Equally, a major international production should not have to piece together dozens of local contacts when one experienced production partner can coordinate the operation.
The first conversation therefore begins with the project rather than a fixed package.
What are you filming?
Where?
How large is the crew?
What equipment is arriving?
How remote are the locations?
How long are you staying?
What does the international production already have in place?
What still needs to be arranged in Nepal?
From those answers, we can determine where Location Nepal adds the most value.
That might be one location scout.
It might be a dedicated fixer.
It might be a complete local production team.
Or it might begin with research and develop into something much larger once the possibilities in Nepal become clear.
Our experience allows us to scale the support around the production rather than the other way around.
You bring the story. We can build the Nepal side around it.
Productions We Support
From Feature Films to a Two Person Documentary Crew
The size of a production does not determine whether Nepal is the right place to make it. The important question is whether the country can provide what the story requires and whether the production can be planned around the realities of working here.
Location Nepal supports a wide range of international and Nepal based productions, including feature films, television series, OTT productions, commercials, branded films, documentaries, news and editorial assignments, fashion productions, photography projects, music videos, educational films and other location based visual productions.
A feature film may require months of preparation, multiple regions, construction, large crews, specialist equipment and extensive logistics.
A television commercial may have only a few shooting days and an enormous amount of work compressed into them.
A documentary may need a small team moving quietly through several communities.
An editorial assignment may depend on reaching one person in one remote location.
A fashion production may need an extraordinary landscape with enough practical infrastructure to support a sophisticated photographic or film crew.
The production model changes, but the fundamentals remain familiar: understand the brief, find the right places, establish access, connect the right people, plan the logistics and stay close to the work.
Our experience includes international productions for broadcasters, studios, agencies, brands and production companies from countries across Asia, Europe, North America and beyond. Projects have ranged from Black Narcissus for Disney, FX and BBC One and Our Girl for BBC One to major advertising campaigns for brands including Panasonic, Coca Cola, Vicks, Nippon Paint, Samsonite, Kellogg's and Powerade.
It also includes feature films such as Up in the Wind, international television productions, documentaries, short films and high end photography projects including Himalayan Fashion Adventure.
Some projects arrive with a complete production department.
Others arrive with little more than an idea and a flight ticket.
Both can work.
The level of support simply changes.
That is why our first question is rarely, “What package do you need?”
It is more useful to ask, “What are you trying to make, and what do you need Nepal to do for you?”
From there, we build the support around the production.
How We Start a Production in Nepal
Bring Us the Idea, the Script or Even the Problem
You do not need to have everything figured out before speaking with us.
Some productions arrive with a finished script, detailed storyboards and a precise list of locations. Others begin with a creative treatment and a few reference images. A documentary may start with a subject and a rough route. A photographer may simply know the kind of landscape they are searching for. Sometimes the first conversation is even more basic: “We want to film this in Nepal. Is it possible?”
That is enough to start.
We begin by understanding what the production is trying to achieve, what is already in place and where the uncertainties are. From there, we can start identifying the locations, people, permissions, logistics and resources that the project will require.
If the production has specific locations in mind, we can investigate them and assess whether they are practical.
If the locations are still open, we can research alternatives across Nepal.
If the creative idea is clear but the practical route is not, we can help build that route.
If the production already has a local plan, we can step into the areas where support is needed.
The earlier we are involved, the more useful our local knowledge can be. A location decision made during development can affect the budget, travel, equipment, crew, schedule and even the creative approach. Understanding those implications early gives the production more choices.
As the project develops, the work can move from initial research into location scouting, recce, budgeting, permits, local crew, logistics and production preparation. The exact process depends on the project, its scale and the regions involved.
We also understand that international producers need clear information before committing resources. Where possible, we aim to identify the practical requirements early, explain what is involved and distinguish between what is straightforward, what needs additional planning and what may require an alternative solution.
There is no single production template for Nepal.
A five person documentary team and a 500 person feature unit should not receive the same process simply because they are both filming here.
The support should fit the production.
And sometimes the most valuable thing we can provide at the beginning is not a location list or a quotation.
It is an honest answer about what is possible.
Tell us what you are trying to make. We will start from there.
Why Productions Work With Location Nepal
Because Nepal Requires More Than a Contact List
A production can find a fixer through a search engine. It can find photographs of locations online. It can hire vehicles, book hotels and download maps before arriving.
What becomes difficult is making all of those things work together.
Location Nepal brings those pieces together through experience built over decades of production in the country.
There is the geography: from the Terai to the high Himalayas, with cities, villages, forests, rivers, heritage sites, remote settlements and landscapes that can change dramatically within a day's travel.
There are the relationships: location owners, communities, authorities, drivers, technicians, guides, suppliers, specialists and people who know places that do not appear in a database.
There is the production understanding: knowing what a cinematographer needs from a location, what a producer needs from a schedule, what a director needs from a scout and what a crew needs once they are actually on the ground.
And there is the experience of having dealt with the difficult parts before.
Moving large international crews.
Building sets in remote terrain.
Getting equipment across borders.
Flying equipment into the Himalayas.
Working around heritage locations.
Coordinating hundreds of extras.
Finding solutions when access changes.
Planning for altitude and weather.
Bringing together Nepalese and international crews.
These are not hypothetical capabilities. They are lessons accumulated through actual productions.
The company's present journey began with Location Nepal in 2009, building on the production heritage of Films & Adfilms and more than five decades of experience behind it. That history has created a network that continues to grow with every production.
We also understand the creative side of the work.
Location Nepal is closely connected to Gautam Dhimal's experience as a photographer, cinematographer, producer and journalist. That means the conversation can move naturally between the image and the practicalities required to create it.
A location is not just somewhere to put a camera.
A fixer is not just someone who answers a telephone.
And production support is not simply a collection of suppliers.
The real value is in understanding how everything connects.
That is what we bring to productions coming to Nepal.
Local knowledge. International production understanding. Decades of experience on the ground.
Frequently Asked Questions About Location Management and Fixing in Nepal
Planning a Production in Nepal
What does a location manager do in Nepal?
A location manager finds, assesses and prepares locations so they work for the production both creatively and practically. In Nepal, that can include location research, scouting, access, permissions, local coordination, transport, accommodation, equipment movement, community liaison, safety considerations and on ground support during filming.
What is the difference between a location manager and a fixer in Nepal?
A fixer is often the local bridge between an international production and the people, places and practical resources it needs. A location manager usually has a broader responsibility for the locations and everything required to operate around them. On many productions, the roles overlap. Location Nepal can provide either fixing support or a much broader local production management structure depending on the project.
Can Location Nepal help us find locations that are not well known?
Yes. Nepal has far more locations than the places commonly promoted for tourism or filming. Our scouting can go beyond established film locations and explore lesser known landscapes, settlements, architecture, cultural environments and communities according to the creative requirement.
Can you scout locations before we travel to Nepal?
Yes. Initial research can be carried out before an international production arrives. We can investigate potential locations, assess access and practical conditions, provide photographic references and develop a shortlist before a physical recce is organised.
Can you work from a script or storyboard?
Yes. A script, treatment, storyboard, reference photograph or even a written description can be enough to begin location research. We can work backwards from the creative requirement to identify what Nepal may offer.
Can you find a location in Nepal that looks like another country?
Yes. Nepal's geography, architecture and cultural diversity can sometimes provide locations capable of representing other regions or countries on screen. The right choice depends on the story, visual requirements, access and production practicalities.
Permissions and Access
Can Location Nepal arrange filming permissions?
We can research and coordinate the relevant filming permissions and local approvals required for an assignment, working with the appropriate authorities, organisations, communities, property owners and institutions. Requirements depend on the location, activity and scale of the production.
Do international productions need permission to film in Nepal?
The requirements depend on what, where and how the production intends to film. International productions may require different approvals for locations, heritage sites, restricted areas, drones, large public activities and other specialised operations. We help establish the requirements during production planning.
Can you arrange access to private properties and communities?
Where appropriate, yes. Our fixing and location management work can include approaching property owners, community representatives and other local stakeholders and helping establish access for the production.
Can you help with filming in temples, monasteries and heritage sites?
Yes, subject to the rules and permissions of the particular location. Religious and heritage locations often have their own requirements, which need to be understood before filming begins.
Can you help with filming in restricted or remote areas?
Yes. The requirements vary considerably by region and activity. We can research access, permissions, transport and other practical requirements and coordinate the local production arrangements around them.
Logistics and Production Support
Can Location Nepal provide local production crew?
Yes. Depending on the project, we can help assemble local production personnel, assistants, technicians, drivers, guides, translators, fixers, location support and other specialists required for the assignment.
Can you support large international film crews?
Yes. Our experience includes productions involving hundreds of international and Nepalese cast and crew, including the Chinese feature film Up in the Wind and large international commercial productions.
Can you arrange transportation for film productions in Nepal?
Yes. Transport planning can include cars, vans, four wheel drives, trucks and other appropriate vehicles, depending on the location and production requirements. Remote locations may require additional solutions including porters, pack animals or aviation.
Can you arrange accommodation for international crews?
Yes. Accommodation can be researched and coordinated according to the location, crew size, production schedule and practical requirements of the project. Remote productions may require a different approach from productions working in Kathmandu or other major cities.
Can you arrange helicopters for filming in Nepal?
We can help assess and coordinate helicopter requirements where aviation is appropriate, including crew or equipment movement and access to difficult locations. Aircraft, weather, altitude, weight, landing requirements, permissions and safety all need to be considered as part of the planning.
Can you help bring cameras and film equipment into Nepal?
Yes. We can help international productions plan and coordinate local logistics associated with imported production equipment, including customs processes, transportation and onward movement, according to the equipment and production requirements.
Can you arrange film equipment in Nepal?
Depending on the requirements, we can help identify and coordinate locally available production equipment and determine what should be sourced in Nepal and what should be brought by the international production.
Remote and Himalayan Productions
Can you film in the Everest region and other high altitude areas?
Yes, subject to the relevant permissions, seasonal conditions and practical requirements of the assignment. High altitude productions require additional planning around acclimatisation, transport, weather, communications, medical support, equipment and emergency contingencies.
Can you support productions beyond road access?
Yes. Depending on the location, this may involve walking routes, porters, pack animals, helicopters or a combination of transport methods. Remote access is assessed as part of the location and production plan.
How do you handle safety on remote productions?
Safety planning depends on the location, altitude, crew size, activities and production requirements. Planning may include medical personnel, emergency arrangements, communications, evacuation options, weather monitoring and contingency planning where appropriate.
Is it possible to film in Nepal during winter or monsoon?
Yes, but the production needs to be planned around seasonal conditions. Different regions experience very different weather patterns, and the best season depends on the location and the visual and logistical requirements of the project.
Documentaries, Editorial and Journalism
Can Location Nepal work with documentary filmmakers and journalists?
Yes. Support can include research, local introductions, location scouting, fixing, translation, transport, field logistics and production coordination.
Can you help us find people and stories for a documentary?
We can assist with local research and introductions based on the editorial requirement. The production can begin with a subject, community, location, occupation, cultural practice or broader story idea and develop from there.
Can you work with international broadcasters?
Yes. Location Nepal has experience supporting international television, documentary, commercial and other visual productions, including productions associated with BBC One, Disney, FX and international broadcasters and production companies.
Commercials, Features and OTT
Do you provide location management for television commercials in Nepal?
Yes. Commercial productions can be supported with location research, scouting, permissions, local crew, extras, logistics, equipment, transport, accommodation and on ground production coordination according to the requirements of the campaign.
Can you support feature films and OTT productions?
Yes. Location Nepal can support feature films, television series and OTT productions from early location research through recce, permissions, local production planning and filming.
Can you manage a complete local production?
Yes. Depending on the scale of the project, Location Nepal can act as the local production partner, coordinating locations, fixing, permissions, crew, equipment, logistics, transport, accommodation and other production requirements.
Can our international production company bring its own crew?
Absolutely. Location Nepal can work alongside an existing international production team and provide only the local support required. We can also build a larger Nepalese production team around the visiting crew where necessary.
Working With Location Nepal
When should we contact Location Nepal?
As early as possible. Early involvement allows location, permissions, logistics, crew, equipment and budget implications to be considered before major production decisions are fixed. We can also become involved at a later stage when a production already has a defined plan.
Do we need to know exactly where we want to film before contacting you?
No. In fact, many projects benefit from speaking with us before choosing locations. A creative brief, script, treatment, reference images or even an initial idea can be enough to begin discussing what Nepal can offer.
Can you help if we are not sure whether Nepal is right for our production?
Yes. An initial conversation can help establish whether the locations, landscapes, communities, logistics and production infrastructure required by the project are realistically available in Nepal.
Do you work only in Kathmandu?
No. Kathmandu is often the production base, but our work extends across Nepal, including the Terai, middle hills, remote rural areas and Himalayan regions.
Why should an international production use an experienced local production partner?
Because production problems rarely stay inside one department. A location decision can affect transport. Transport affects the schedule. The schedule affects crew and accommodation. Permissions affect access. Equipment affects customs and logistics. Local knowledge helps identify those connections before they become problems.
What makes Location Nepal different from a simple location database or fixer directory?
Location Nepal combines location knowledge, fixing, production management, photography, cinematography, journalism, local relationships and decades of production experience. The objective is not simply to provide information about Nepal. It is to help an international production actually make its work here.
How do we start a production with Location Nepal?
Send us the project, script, treatment, reference images or simply describe what you are trying to make. We can begin by understanding the creative requirement, the locations, scale, schedule and support already available, then determine what the Nepal side of the production will require.
Can Location Nepal work on only one part of a production?
Yes. You can engage us for a specific location scout, fixing assignment, research requirement, permission process, remote production, crew requirement or other local service. We can also stay involved throughout the entire production when a complete local partner is required.
Where does Location Nepal's experience come from?
Location Nepal was established in 2009, building on a production legacy that began more than five decades ago with Films & Adfilms. That experience has grown through international feature films, television productions, commercials, documentaries, photography projects and productions across very different parts of Nepal.
Who is behind Location Nepal?
Location Nepal's production heritage is connected to Films & Adfilms and the late Gehendra Dhimal, with Prem Upadhya continuing as Line Producer and Gautam Dhimal bringing extensive experience across photography, cinematography, journalism, production and location management. Together with a wider Nepalese production network, this forms the practical foundation behind the company's international production support.
What information should we send when requesting production support?
The more information available, the better, but you do not need a complete production plan. Useful information includes the script or treatment, reference images, proposed dates, locations or regions, crew size, equipment requirements, type of production and the kind of support you believe you need. If those details are not yet available, an initial conversation is still a good place to start.
Planning to Film in Nepal?
Start With the Production. We Will Work Out the Nepal Side.
Whether you already have a script, a shortlist of locations, a production schedule or simply an idea that you want to explore, Location Nepal can help you understand what it will take to bring it to life here.
Tell us what you are making, when you are planning to come, where you hope to film and what you already have in place.
If the location is still unknown, that is fine too.
We can begin with research.
If the production is already fully developed, we can step directly into the local planning.
If you need only a fixer or location manager, we can provide that.
If you need a complete local production partner, we can build the Nepal operation around your international team.
From Kathmandu to the Himalayas, from heritage cities to remote communities, from a small documentary crew to a large international production, we bring decades of local knowledge, relationships and production experience to the ground.
Tell us what you are planning to film in Nepal.
Location Nepal
Film Production Services • Location Management • Fixing • Location Scouting • Production Logistics • Remote Production Support
Let us handle the ground game.