Chadani (2026)

In the secluded village of Bardiya, 24-year-old Chadani Thapa wields scissors and clippers for male clients—a trade rarely taken up by women in her region. For two years, she’s lived apart from her family, forging a life anchored in routine, grit, and a slowly blossoming self-reliance. While honing her craft in a profession dominated by men, the emotional gap between her and those she loves quietly persists. Through fleeting daily rituals and hushed pauses, this documentary follows Chadani not simply as a barber, but as a young woman steadily claiming her own place in a world that grants her little room. Her solitude becomes a mirror for introspection, and her work, a silent act of defiance.