With the astounding success of his film, Caravan, you'd have expected Eric Valli to have at least a chip on his shoulder. But when we met Eric during his brief visit to Kathmandu last week there was no sign of it. Still the same intensely romantic artist and adventurer we met on his first visit to Nepal in the 1970s when he fell in love with the country and stayed on. He is elated about the 11-week box office run of Caravan in Kathmandu and the acclaim that the film received here. "That is my biggest reward, that Nepalis liked the film," he says. "Nepal taught me about true courage, dignity, tolerance."

As a Nepal-France entry, Caravan was nominated for best foreign language film at the Oscars, but lost out to Pedro Almodovar's All About My Mother. However, the film was voted best film at Banff, Jury's Choice at Locarno, and for Best Music in Toronto. It is the second most successful film at the box office in France this year (where it was renamed Himalaya), and the number one film in Switzerland. For those who missed seeing this epic story of a yak salt caravan, the film will be screened at the first Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival in the first week of December.

Eric grew up as a cabinet-maker in France, and was never formally trained in anything. "No one taught me to be a photographer, a director, or a cameraman. Basically I am a story-teller," he says. "And I have found that a feature film is the best way to re-create reality."

His latest work with Debra Kellner is the photo-essay of the Rana Tharu on the September cover of National Geographic magazine. A book version called Jungle Princess will be released in April 2001. Eric first shot to fame with his dramatic story of the Gurung honey-hunters of the Annapurnas which was printed in National Geographic. Eric has other projects up his sleeves, but he is secretive about them. Even so, you can be sure that like the Rana Tharu, the salt caravans of Dolpo, or the honey-hunters they will be about societies and traditional ways of life that are in fragile transition as they are overwhelmed by the mainstream. Eric Valli has always given us one last glimpse before they disappear.