My company is named Shambala Creative Group. Shambala (also written Shambhala, meaning paradise) is a Tibetan myth which inspired Shangri-La, a fictional place told by James Hilton in his book Lost Horizon published in 1933. The book was then adapted to the screen by Frank Capra in 1937 in an eponymous film, whose production budget was one of the biggest at the time.
The legend speaks of a mythical kingdom hidden in the Himalayan mountains, in the remotest part of Tibet. A haven of peace, cut off from civilisation and conflict. It is also called “The Pure Land” or “The Land of Tranquility”. The wisdom of mankind is supposed to be conserved there against the threat of imminent catastrophe.
Many communities have tried to find it, from scientists, explorers to hippies ; but no one has ever found this lost valley, perched on a Tibetan plateau and surrounded by the Himalayan mountains. The kingdom is in the shadow of a white crystal mountain, approachable only through a ring of peaks. Next to the mountain are a lake and a palace.
A few words from the Dalaï Lama on Shambala:
“Nowadays, no one knows where Shambala is. Although it is said to exist, people cannot see it, or communicate with it in an ordinary way. Some people say it is located in another world, others that it is an ideal land, a place of the imagination. Some say it was a real place, which cannot now be found. Some believe there are openings into that world which may be accessed from this. Whatever the truth of that, the search of Shambala traditionally begins with as an outer journey that becomes a journey of inner exploration and discovery.”
Shambala represents everything that I love: stories, travel, adventure, and the unknown. The story of Lost Horizon is still very relevant to the world that we live in today.
Tom F. Pardo is a French film director, producer, editor and photographer. After a Bachelor degree in the U.S and a Master degree in Communication & Media at the Paris School of Business, Tom left everything behind to pursue a career in cinema and movie marketing. An avid video editor since his teenage years, he moved to New York and then London to learn the craft of movie trailers. Working at the iconic Film House in Soho for a few years, he was able to work on an extensive range of projets, from small indie films to the biggest blockbusters, and is now a senior editor working on campaigns for Netflix, Pathé, Gaumont, StudioCanal, among others.
His first short film as a writer/director/producer/editor, Submerged, has won 18 nominations around the globe and 5 awards including 3 in the U.S. His second short film, Burning Shores, will be soon available to watch.
Tom aspires to be a polymath in storytelling, and never stops learning and improving his skills. In June 2023, he flew to Rome to learn the art of photography with Steve McCurry and Eolo Perfido. This once-in-a-lifetime experience allowed to expand his knowledge of composition and colour, skills that he will use in his own photography and filmmmaking work.
Tom will soon launch a podcast on storytelling, called Storytellers & Explorers, in which he will invite artists and storytellers to share their work and knowledge with the world.