Living Goddess (film)

Living Goddess is a 2008 film that documents lives of three young Kumaris (prepubescent girls believed to be living goddesses) against the backdrop of the Nepalese Civil War. This film caused controversy at the time of its release, mostly due to the ritual sacrifice of 108 buffaloes and goats recorded in detail during the opening scene.

Premiered at Silverdocs, the AFI/Discovery Channel Documentary Festival in Downtown Silver Spring.

Controversy
On 3 July 2007, Sajani Shakya was removed from her position as Kumari of Bhaktapur after visiting the United States to attend the release of the movie Living Goddess at Silverdocs, the American Film Institute/Discovery Channel documentary festival in downtown Silver Spring, Maryland. The visit, according to the elders, had tainted her purity. A couple of weeks later, temple authorities at Sajani Shakya's hometown recanted their previous statement and said that she would not be stripped of her title because she was willing to undergo a "cleansing" ceremony to remove any sins she might have committed while traveling.