Piles of Bricks – A Feature Documentary About Nepal’s 2015 Megaquakes

At the three-year anniversary the devastation and travails continueTheoEco first arrived in Nepal in September 2015 in the aftermath of the devastating mega-quakes on April 25th and May 12th of that year. Remember? The quakes were truly overwhelming, and the world rushed in with companies like FedEx, Facebook, and others donating services, money, and attention. Thousands of people were killed, hundreds of thousands of homes were destroyed, irreplaceable monuments and temples toppled, and millions were left homeless.
And with the endless news coverage, there was a promise of $4 billion from the world to rebuild.

Of course, many calamities have befallen the world since then and we have mostly moved on. That being said, the situation in the areas hardest hit have recovered little in most situations, and just over a quarter of the $4 billion appears to have made it to where it is supposed to go: the homeowners. There are many reasons, which, when added up, probably means the money will never get to where it’s supposed to. Most citizens we speak with expect little from here on out. For a review: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_2015_Nepal_earthquake.
And this leaves us with the gnawing feeling that corruption and politics is taking its toll--and is why we feel a need to revisit and shine a light on the situation with our upcoming documentary: Piles of Bricks (Revisited) - click here to see the trailer.
To be sure, there is a lot of building going on in and around Kathmandu, though most of the homes remain in a state of disrepair with only a fraction (15%) having been rebuilt, according to government estimates (https://twitter.com/Reenacbr/status/989072969107374085).
The devastation was always toughest in the villages, though that is little comfort to those who were severely hit in Kathmandu’s urban areas. It is obvious that rebuilding efforts will take years, especially with the funds AWOL. For a deep dive check out https://thediplomat.com/2018/04/nepals-desperate-race-to-rebuild/.
Since those early days we return as often as possible and are planning several returns over the next year as we embark on a third set of projects under the banner: Nepal 3+. More on that in future posts.
To remind folks of what it was like in 2015 we are releasing the original Piles of Bricks free of charge on YouTube and Vimeo.
Piles of Bricks was completed in 2016 but never released. We are releasing all of the original Piles of Bricks films including the mini-documentary segments as follows:

• Piles of Bricks Feature – This is the full 50-minute feature film.
• Piles of Bricks Trailer – The trailer.
• Range of Damage – An eight-minute segment which shows the range of damage that we found, from the devastated stone and mud houses in Harisiddhi, to steel reinforced concrete earthquake resistant structures in Lalitpur--often side by side.
• Sunday School on Saturday – What makes our work possible in Nepal is the Christian community, especially the Anglicans who befriended and help us at every turn. This segment shows what Saturday mornings are like (Their day of prayer as it is the only day most all Nepali’s take off) at Golgotha Church in Lalitpur.
• National Theological College – Another vital partner TheoEco has found is the National Theological College just outside Kathmandu. Look at this nine-minute mini-documentary to see what people were really dealing with in the earthquake aftermath as the Indian blockade heaped even more misery on the average Nepali with fuel and other shortages. Prepare to be inspired and a bit shocked.
• Villages – This 14-minute mini documentary goes deep in the villages in and around the Kathmandu Valley, including Gorkha, the epicenter of the original earthquake.

To see all the films together go to https://vimeo.com/album/5153225. Or you can view all on TheoEco’s YouTube channel.
We hope you enjoy them all!