VIDEO: Sheffield filmmaking duo embark on Nepal trip

Joe Gist and Aidan Joseph, both film and media production students at Sheffield Hallam University, flew out to Kathmandu on January 3 to shoot their documentary Limits of Freedom: The Street Children of Kathmandu.

They have collaborated on several films over the last few years but described this as their 'most ambitious project yet'.

They aim to follow the stories of several former street children, including Sushil Babu Chhetri – a Nepalese man who has overcome adversity to become a filmmaker in his own right.

They travelled halfway across the world to make the film to shine a light on the plight faced by thousands of homeless children, who often descend into drug abuse and face sexual exploitation.

In a joint statement, Joe and Aidan said: "Sushil’s story is a positive one, despite his incredibly difficult youth, and yet the majority of young people in Kathmandu with an early life similar to Sushil’s may never have that spark ignited for them.

"On top of these already difficult circumstances, many street children struggle with substance abuse, physical abuse and sexual abuse, which amounts to an incredibly complicated problem exacerbated by the lack of support that these young people receive.

"In this documentary we intend to investigate some of the support that is being provided for these young people by non-government organisations, conduct interviews with a wide range of individuals with unique stand points and perspectives to offer, and try to give a platform for some of these incredibly resilient and inspiring young people to tell their stories."

The duo have launched a crowdfunding page to help pay for costs and have so far raised £880 of a £2000 target.

Before embarking on the trip, they said: "We are currently already deep out of pocket, and as students in our third year at university, finances are scarce too. This campaign will continue to run after we depart to hopefully continue to cover the mounting costs of production."

Visit https://www.gofundme.com/LimitsOfFreedom