Lynn True and Nelson Walker in Person

The Kham region of Tibet-one of the world's loneliest, most punishing and beautiful environments-is the setting for this beautifully observed documentary. Locho and Yama are a young Tibetan couple growing up quickly in the high grassland plateau. Nomadic yak herders, their lives resemble those of their ancestors: she works at butter-making, housekeeping, and childcare, while he embarks on dawn-til-dusk treks through the landscape, grazing their herd of yaks. But changes are coming to the plateau: China's development of the region begins to shift many of the dynamics that held true for generations, and the comfort and ease of the city beckon. With warmth, humor, and patience that draw out the incredible drama and nuance of nomadic life, Summer Pasture explores the romanticism and hard realities of living off the land, as well as a historic moment in Tibet's history, when the choice between tradition and modernity is anything but black and white.