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Firebird is more than a film. It is a survivor telling her own story in her own way. Dolma’s return to the brothel where her childhood was stolen is both personal and an act of resistance.
By casting survivors and people from her community, the film carries an honesty that cannot be staged. It invites the audience to connect emotionally, not just intellectually, with the ongoing fight against trafficking.
We aim for Firebird to move from film festivals into advocacy work and classrooms. The film is meant to spark conversation, inspire empathy, and drive action to protect childhood from sex trafficking and exploitation.
A survivor returns to
the brothel that stole her childhood to reclaim what was stolen.
Synopsis
In this true story, Firebird follows Dolma, a Nepali survivor of sex trafficking, as she travels by bus from rural Nepal to a place she never thought she would see again: the brothel in India where her childhood was stolen. The journey is not only across a border but back into her past. She recalls the promises that lured her from home, the violence that followed, and the silence she learned to survive.
Inside, the line between memory and reality blurs. Faces, voices, and rooms feel unchanged. She sees her own story in the girls who live there now and in the memory of the child she once was. In her own time there had been a single thread of hope — an NGO worker who kept visiting. She spoke words that cut through the lies and planted the belief that Dolma was worth more than what she had been told. Now, years later, Dolma walks back into the brothel in an act of defiance, determined to offer young Nepali girls the same lifeline once offered to her.
Starring Dolma and her real niece, and performed by Nepali nationals with lived experience, Firebird is a fearless act of survivor-led defiance. During production, Dolma learned that her sister (her niece’s mother) had been trafficked. The revelation made the production more than a journey into her past. It forced her to face her family’s present.
In this true story, Firebird follows Dolma, a Nepali survivor of sex trafficking, as she travels by bus from rural Nepal to a place she never thought she would see again: the brothel in India where her childhood was stolen. The journey is not only across a border but back into her past. She recalls the promises that lured her from home, the violence that followed, and the silence she learned to survive.
Inside, the line between memory and reality blurs. Faces, voices, and rooms feel unchanged. She sees her own story in the girls who live there now and in the memory of the child she once was. In her own time there had been a single thread of hope — an NGO worker who kept visiting. She spoke words that cut through the lies and planted the belief that Dolma was worth more than what she had been told. Now, years later, Dolma walks back into the brothel in an act of defiance, determined to offer young Nepali girls the same lifeline once offered to her.
Starring Dolma and her real niece, and performed by Nepali nationals with lived experience, Firebird is a fearless act of survivor-led defiance. During production, Dolma learned that her sister (her niece’s mother) had been trafficked. The revelation made the production more than a journey into her past. It forced her to face her family’s present.
WATCH THE TRAILER
Lakpa Dolma Tamang & Eric Davis
Directed by
Lakpa Dolma Tamang
True Story by
Eric Davis & Randy Watson
Written by
Randy Watson
Produced by
Mina Tamang-Ojha (Marcia),
Mamata Tamang, Rosmari Silva, Silvio Silva, Callie Tybur, Jeremy Vallerand, Randy Watson, Eric Davis
Executive Producers
Kathmandu, Nepal
Location
Credits & Film Info
Drama, True Story, Social Impact
Genre
Credits &
Film Info
Mina Tamang-Ojha (Marcia), Mamata Tamang, Rosmari Silva, Silvio Silva, Callie Tybur,
Jeremy Vallerand, Randy Watson, Eric Davis
Ally protects every child’s right to a safe and free childhood by preventing sex trafficking and exploitation and providing long-term care to children and youth survivors. Ally equips individuals, organizations, and communities with the tools needed to prevent trafficking and exploitation, ensuring sustainable, community-led solutions. Through trusted international partners, Ally also provides safe housing, education, job training, and aftercare to survivors, fostering recovery and independence.
About Ally Global Foundation
Letter from Co-Directors
We are Dolma and Eric, the co-directors of Firebird.
This is Dolma’s true story. As a young girl in Nepal, she was trafficked across the border to India and sold into brothels. For three years she lived in silence, until a woman began visiting her. She told her she was worth more than what she had been told. That belief saved her life. She arranged a safe home family in Nepal where Dolma could heal, go to school, and dream again.
Today, Dolma works to rescue Nepali girls from the same brothel areas where she was taken. This work is her life.
When it came time to tell her story, we built this film together, with the support of Dolma’s safe home community and friends. Every person on set was Nepali. Many have lived through similar experiences. Dolma’s real niece, Chhimi, plays her younger self. During filming, Dolma learned that her sister, Chhimi’s mother, had been trafficked. The film became more than a journey into her past. It became part of her family’s present.
We approached the story with poetic realism, blending past and present, and centering survivor leadership at every stage. We filmed in Kathmandu with mental health support on set and full consent for every decision.
For us, Firebird is not just a film. It is a fearless act of survivor-led defiance. It is proof that a survivor can take back her own story and tell it in her own voice. Your audience understands the power of truth told by those who have lived it. They will not only watch this story, they will carry it.
Thank you for considering Firebird.
With respect,
Dolma and Eric Davis
Co-Directors, Firebird
Letter from
Co-Directors
Randy Watson
Eric Davis is a Canadian writer and director whose work blends poetic realism with unflinching truth. His short film The Twelve Thousand won top prizes at Amsterdam, LA Shorts, and Cannes Shorts, screened at international festivals from New Jersey to Trinidad, and was translated into twelve languages. More than a film, it became a tool for prevention and survivor care, raising over two million dollars and earning Academy Award consideration. Davis’s storytelling is shaped in close partnership with survivors and local communities. With Firebird, co-directed with its protagonist Dolma, he continues to create deeply human stories that stir audiences to act.
Eric Davis
Randy Watson is the Founder and CEO of Ally Global Foundation, an organization dedicated to protecting childhood from sex trafficking and exploitation. His early years were shaped by a home that welcomed children in foster care, giving him a lasting commitment to defend the vulnerable. As a filmmaker, Watson produced The Twelve Thousand, which won top honors at Amsterdam, LA Shorts, and Cannes Shorts, screened internationally, and was translated into twelve languages. The film raised more than two million dollars for survivor care and earned Academy Award consideration. With Firebird he continues telling stories that inspire large scale change.
Dolma
Dolma is a trafficking survivor, activist, and now filmmaker. As a child, she was trafficked across the Nepali border into Indian brothels, where she endured three years of silence and suffering. Rescued and welcomed into a safe home in Nepal, she began to heal, study, and dream again. Today, Dolma leads rescues of Nepali girls from the very places she was once trapped, giving her life to prevention and restoration. Co-directing Firebird, she shares her story with courage and artistry, offering hope to those still in darkness. Her testimony is a call to rise, to reclaim life, to fly free.
