Dharamsala, August 10 – A documentary film by a Tibetan filmmaker is listed as the “most viewed” in an online film festival called ‘Film festival – Humanity Explored’, organized by Culture Unplugged Studios.
‘Prayers Answered’ is a film by Geleck Pasang, a former student of TCV school Ladakh and Bylakupee, whose film about a remote Muslim habitat and it people’s admiration for the Dalai Lama is currently on top of the list as the ‘People’s choice – most viewed’ on the site with 30956 views at the time of this report going online. About 800 films have participated in the contest that will last till July 2010.
The film documents a visit in August 2005 of the Tibetan leader Dalai Lama to Turtuk, a remote village inhabited by ethnic Muslims on the neck of Indian Map, sharing critical border with Pakistan and “China occupied Tibet.”
Turtuk, once a part of Baltistan a shared strong economic and cultural ties with Tibet. They conversed in same language- western Tibet dialect, which is still used in Turtuk. The people of Turtuk invited the Dalai Lama to bless them and to re-live the ancient tie that they had once shared with Tibet. Turtuk became a part of India after the war with Pakistan in 1971.
Turtuk is a highly restricted area, totally cut out from the rest of the world and tourists are denied access to this place. However, the difference in faith has not stopped the villagers to welcome His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the visit was celebrated with great splendor and grandeur. The Muslim residents of Turtuk still treasure the visit and pray for a second visit.
The film, produced by Geleck in 2007, depicts the emphasis the Tibetan leader lays on providing modern education to the children of the village to create a better community.
Many children from this village are presently studying in a Tibetan School, practicing their own religion and pursuing academic aspirations.
In Geleck’s own words, the film is “a story about the journey of these children living in a new environment, preserving their religion and culture while learning basic education from a Tibetan school. I made an attempt to show through film how these children cope with the multicultural world with genuine love, brotherhood and the most importantly, sense of respect to each other.”
Phayul seeks readers’ apology for the mistake it made in the report above. The website showed the film by Geleck as “Winning Film” and did not give any deadline for the contest. Attempts to submit film shows entry for the next competition.
