Echoes of the Highlands is a poetic short documentary following 29-year-old Arun as he leaves his apartment in Kathmandu and sets foot into the Himalayas. He feels lost in the big city and disconnected from himself. As a modern Nepali troubadour, his goal is to exchange traditional music and forgotten stories. Without setting a physical end point, Arun allows the path, and the people he meets, to guide him.

At first, Arun remains an observer. He walks past a remote village where shamanic funeral ceremonies are still practiced. When Arun talks with the locals about death, we discover that Arun is not healed from a past full of grief and disconnection. As he climbs higher into the mountains, and hears stories about loss, rootedness and connection, something begins to shifts. In the songs of others, he recognises parts of himself. His life story slowly unfolds. As a child, he fled his violent village-home and built a new life in Kathmandu, surviving on the streets. Music became his refuge. Now, after the death of both his parents,

he turns to music once more to process his grief.

His journey leads him to the highlands where he encounters ancient musical traditions. Arun confronts the ache of disconnection that has shaped his adult life. Reflecting on the journey, Arun comes to understand that self-discovery isn’t a destination, it’s a continuous act of listening, learning, and connecting.