German businessman and development activist Uwe Luk has prepared ‘The Making of the Statue Milarepa’ by following the original process of sculpture making for a year. Luk said that the film was made with the aim of presenting the traditional process of Nepali sculpture to a global audience.

The documentary was coordinated by businessman Amarlal Shrestha. Coordinator Shrestha said that he has been associated with Uwe for more than 50 years.

‘Artworks are not made by machines. They are created through the sweat, perseverance and self-respect of generations of Nepali artisans,’ said Shrestha. ‘He has continuously followed the artists for a year and brought that difficult practice and perseverance to the screen.’

Sabindra Shakya, Sitaram B.K. and Rinu Shakya have worked as sculptors in the documentary. Similarly, the child artists include Ronit Pradhan (James School), Aryabh Lal Shrestha and Arya Shrestha (Nisarga Batika School).

The screening of the documentary organized in Kathmandu on Wednesday was attended by Nepal Tourism Board CEO Hikmat Singh Air, Federation of Nepalese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Vice President Naresh Lal Shrestha, Nepal Handicraft Federation President Rabindra Shakya, former Secretary Shankar Prasad Pandey and other distinguished guests. 

Uwe, a former director of the German volunteer organization German Volunteers and a former advisor to GTJet, first came to Nepal in 1973. Shortly after that, he started exporting Nepali handicrafts to Germany with his late wife Tudi Billo. Uwe recently produced a documentary called ‘Singing Ball’.