A STOCKBRIDGE film maker will swap the hills of Test Valley for the mountains of Nepal as she prepares to shoot her latest documentary.

Sarah Li, who lives in the High Street, Stockbridge, is hoping to travel to Nepal in March to start work on her up-coming project 'Endure Nepal'.

The film, which is described as an observational documentary twinned with an outdoor adventure film, will follow the journey of five female mountain bikers as they work their way through the Himalayas.

The group are aiming to bike over 100 miles, with an elevation gain of over 23,000 feet, in order to reach the remote village of Kyanjin Gompa.

While there, the group will help to build a prototype stone greenhouse and generally aid the villagers, who are still suffering from the affects of two devastating earthquakes and the landslides that followed in 2015.

The aim of the film is to inspire continued tourism to Nepal, which has suffered severely since the earthquakes, with a secondary focus on mountain biking and the dynamics of the women riding through the scenic Langtang Valley.

Ms Li, who previously travelled to Nepal in 2008, spoke to the Andover Advertiser about how the idea for the film came about.

The 32-year-old said: "When I heard about the earthquakes I immediately wanted to go out there to offer my help.

"They said not to for now because it will be a long term recovery but I still wanted to do something in my power to help.

"I was in Yosemite Park in America, at the top of Half Dome rock, when I met a woman mountain biker from Phoenix called Julie Cornelius.

"We got talking about ideas and I told her that I was a film maker.

"She then pitched the project to me I said yes immediately."

Asked about her intentions for the documentary, the filmmaker, who has previously produced short movies in Goodworth Clatford and Stockbridge, said: "I would love to get it into some of the major festivals like Sundance or Banff Festival.

"I am also looking forward to just getting out there and working with the Nepalese people again and trying to do something positive for the country.

"Even if just 100 people watch the film and go off the back of it, that would be really fantastic."

Ms Li and the rest of her group are currently crowdfundraising for the event and are looking for people to donate to their cause.

The intention is to raise a total of $65,000, approximately £45,000, with the group already reaching the $13,000 mark.

To donate to the project visit: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1788307906/endure-nepal-film