The world watches Tibetan feature film Dreaming Lhasa
By Tenzing Tsetan Choklay and Youdon Aukatsang
Dreaming Lhasa , is the product of over four years of arduous labour of love and commitment to depicting issues facing contemporary Tibetans by the Tibetan Indian Directors, Ritu Sarin and Tenzin Sonam. Although Ritu and Tenzin have worked on several Tibet related documentaries, this is their first feature film. The film has been selected from among many films for a number of high profile international Film Festivals. It was screened under the Discovery Section of the Toronto International Film Festival. ‘ Tibet is the heart and soul of Dreaming Lhasa … Truth may often be stranger than fiction; good fiction, of course, can also be a powerful window into many kinds of truth…’ writes the reviewer for the Festival publication. The film will be screened at the San Sebastian Film Festival in Spain later this month.
Dreaming Lhasa – a simple narrative set in Dharamsala tells the story about Karma; a thirty-year-old New York bred Tibetan American filmmaker. Escaping a failing relationship with her partner at home, Karma goes to Dharamsala to make a documentary film about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet . The journey brings her closer to her roots and establishes new bonds as her world collides with Dhondup’s, an enigmatic ex-monk who has recently escaped from Tibet .
Dhondup, in order to fulfill his dying mother’s last wish, seeks Karma’s help to track down a former CIA trained Tibetan resistance fighter to whom he must deliver a Charm Box. These two very different Tibetans embark on an unsettling journey into Tibet ‘s fractured past. The story takes us deep into the heart of Tibetan exile existence and digs up aching memories of the years that followed the events of 1959.
During the course of the journey, Karma finds herself inadvertently falling in love with Dhondup. But then there’s Jigme, a long-haired careless youth from the streets of Mcleodganj in Dharamsala. Jigme befriends Karma much before she meets Dhondup and occasionally even vocalizes his desire to be with her. Thus a love triangle is formed.
Although the focus of the film is the voyage itself, the underlying love story is as powerful and evokes as much emotion as the main plot. As one of the older Tibetans who had acted in the film tells us, “this is a story that all generation of Tibetans in exile can relate to”. The film portrays both the hopes and frustrations of Tibetans in exile. It gives out a strong message of hope that inspite of forces of globalization/ westernization/ assimilation, contemporary Tibetan exiles are struggling to maintain their sense of identity.
Yes, all these sound intriguing but due to the sensitive nature of its subject matter, the film may never get a theatrical release in India . Given the Indian government’s current policy of appeasing China , it may censor the film in India . This need not stop us from looking into organising some special screenings in Delhi , Dharamsala and elsewhere.
The Directors are expected to be back home in Delhi after the screenings in Toronto and San Sebastian . Hopefully they will be back with some good news. Tenzing Sonam, incidentally, has already started working on the script for their next film.
Dreaming Lhasa
India/UK, 2005
35mm, 90 Minutes
Tibetan/English
Screenings Dates and time for San Sebastian
20 September, 09:30 , Principal – Only Press
20 September, 21:30 , Kursaal 2
21 September, 20:30 , Warner 5
22 September, 18:30 , Principe 7, Last Screening
