In the steep mountain jungles of Nepal’s Hongu river valley, members of the isolated Kulung culture have risked their lives for generations scaling dangerous cliffs to collect a wild and toxic honey. Deep and dark, the film glides through a misty world of forest spirits, dreams, and woodsmoke to share the story of the leader of the harvest and his final journey. We owe our access to this story and the trust of the Kulung community to the decade of work the dZi Foundation https://dzi.org has done in this remote region of Nepal. A co-production by www.camp4collective.com and www.feltsoulmedia.com, in association with the dZi Foundation and National Geographic Read the National Geographic story here by Mark Synnott with photographs by Renan Ozturk: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2017/07/honey-hunters-bees-climbing-nepal/ For a behind the scenes glimpse of the making of the film, here's an edit by Renan Ozturk for The North Face: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QL-0TAw5rjg Crew Directed and Edited by Ben Knight Principle Cinematography by Ben Knight and Renan Ozturk Produced by Ben Ayers, Renan Ozturk and Travis Rummel Associate Producer — Jeff Resnick Additional Cinematography — Matt Irving, Ben Ayers, Taylor Rees Aerial — Renan Ozturk Awards The Cartel Award for Best Documentary* | Camden International Film festival Grand Prize | Krakow Mountain Film Festival Best Film Mountain Culture | Banff Mountain Film Festival Best Culture and Nature Film | Bilbao Mendi Film Festival Best Visuals | Kendall Mountain Film Festival Best Short Documentary | Bend Film festival Audience Choice Award | Katmandu International Film Festival Best Cinematography | New York Wild Film Festival Audience Choice Short Documentary | Thessaloniki International Film Festival Academy Award qualifying | Short Documentary Competition 2019

The Last Honey Hunter was a once in a lifetime opportunity for us. A project with no oversight, no brands, no budget, no expectations. A chance to tell a story the way you believe it should be told. A chance to collaborate with our good friends Ben Ayers, Renan Ozturk, Camp4, National Geographic and the dZi Foundation. A chance to honor an extraordinary man named Maule Dhan Rai. The Last Honey Hunter qualified for a short film Oscar in 2019.