With the world descending further and further into an everyone-for-themselves mentality, it’s difficult not to register the social darwinism at the center of our human impulse. Just as society built an economic system whereby we can maintain our place amongst the food chain, so too have we grown a winner-take-all philosophy that not only allows, but encourages us to disregard things like nature or old-world tradition, so that we may instead focus on whatever task we must accomplish in order to come out on top — whether that be cutting down the Amazon or forcing animals into extinction.
While there are certain global power factors that create such an environment, what the part-nature/part-human documentary “Snow Leopard Sisters” quickly shows us that these power plays exist even at a very intimate level. Often though, it is at this level where groundbreaking change can truly occur, as attempts at altering a system tend to feel more like keeping a wave from crashing in on you. This is the conflict that faces one half of the duo at the center of the film, Tshiring Lhama Lama, a Nepalese conservationist whose home region of Dolpo in the Himalayan Mountains is also refuge to some of the last remaining snow leopards in the world. Though estimates claim there are still 90 snow leopards still living in Dolpo, as Tshiring works to keep track of them throughout the documentary, concern grows that the actual figure may be far less, suggesting a possible extinction-level event.
Why are the number of snow leopard sightings dwindling to such a degree? As it turns out, others have taken up occupation around these wild animals and are going to extreme lengths to stake out their claim. Tshiring suggests that this is not unusual, as she herself grew up living in this region and is no stranger to the community of goat herders who roam its terrain. What’s changed is the animosity they now have towards the snow leopards, largely as a result of them slaughtering the means by which these individuals and families survive. In one particularly horrifying incident, one family of herders lost over 40 of their stock, a fact that would contribute to the death of one child, which then caused the father to go mad and be sent to prison. The surviving child, Tenzen, is the other focus of “Snow Leopard Sisters” and half of the mentor/mentee relationship the film eventually starts to follow.
For as strong as Tshiring’s passion for the snow leopard is, her greatest concern is that her worry is falling on deaf ears. After all, who cares about less than a hundred wild animals in some remote region of the Himalayas? As Tshiring works to communicate the importance of balance in nature and how the snow leopard has contributed to this balance, she’s also faced with the prevailing wisdom of the time, which promotes treating these animals like mythical beasts who need to be taken down. This is the message spread even by religious figures like monks, many of whom Tshiring and Tenzen face down as they work to upend pre-conceived notions.
Though Tshiring makes her frustrations known during these conversations, either visibly or verbally, Tenzen mostly takes it all in, as her responsibility is to absorb what it means to be a conservationist. That being said, her motives for accepting a mentorship with Tshiring have less to do with an interest in the snow leopard and more to do with escaping the environment she was born into. With her sister dead and father in prison, Tenzen’s grandfather is now pushing for her to be married off to a cousin despite only being 17 years old. Even in remote an area as the Himalayas, this is still frowned upon, yet Tenzen is only able to voice her anxiety via the direct-to-camera confessions employed by the production. Thankfully, Tenzen is able to have the wedding delayed two weeks while Tshiring takes her on a training expedition, the idea being that in the future, she and her family may utilize some of the techniques she learns to prevent future snow leopard attacks and grow to live in harmony with them.
What Tshiring is aiming to show to not only Tenzen, but the entire community of herders who live throughout the region, is that people need not fear the snow leopard and that their presence does not have to stand in the way of their livelihood. Even Tshiring herself is willing to search for these supposed “monsters” while at the same time caring for her infant son, a signal to all that the danger is only in their heads. Having been brought up with her own worry around these creatures, the practice of unlearning also allows Tenzen to consider her own voice in matters that heretofore seemed out of her control. At the end of the day, both her and Tshiring’s narratives are bound with that of the snow leopard’s in that they all know no other land than this one and are all just trying to exist in this space as best they can.
Directed by Tshiring’s sister, Sonam Choekyi Lama, as well as Ben Ayers and Andrew Lynch, “Snow Leopard Sisters” exists as both a stunning nature doc that captures incredible vistas and up-close-and-personal looks at the violence snow leopards are capable of, as well as an intimate portrayal of two opposites coming together to achieve a mission that seems beyond themselves, but actually speaks to what drives their individual sense of empathy and compassion. Perhaps what’s most revealing is that communities like the one Tenzen is a part of still exist and do so without many of the same modern comforts we as a society have become bound by. Though the rest of us tout our technological innovation as a display of our own advancement as a species, perhaps what “Snow Leopard Sisters” contends is that we are all no better than the snow leopard and if we wish not to be wiped out, we must start working to co-exist rather than lay claim over what we think is ours.
Grade: B
“Snow Leopard Sisters” premiered at SXSW 2025. It is currently seeking U.S. distribution.
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