After repeated requests for an interview, Australian filmmaker Lara Damiani who was in Delhi recently, was refused an interview with Chinese Ambassador Mr Sun Yuxi.
Damiani was in Delhi recently gathering more interviews and footage for her documentary about Tibet “No Currency in Compassion”.
After repeated communication with the Chinese Embassy in Delhi, Damiani finally managed to get a response to her request for an interview with the Chinese Ambassador in Delhi, only to be told he was “too busy with farewell parties” to accept the request.
“I was told that the Ambassador was into the final two weeks of his tenure in that role and as a result was too busy attending farewell parties to meet with me” said Lara. “I was disappointed as I was providing an opportunity for the Chinese Government to be involved in my documentary” she said.
While the Chinese Ambassador refused to meet with Damiani, she was beaming with excitement about her hour long interview with His Holiness the Dalai Lama who was more than generous with his limited time for an on camera interview.
South Australian based Lara Damiani was so inspired by the plight of Tibet and the Tibetans and a burning desire to spread the message of Tibet in the lead up to the Beijing Olympics, that she decided to make a feature length documentary about the issue in November last year. The documentary, currently in production, highlights the last remaining non-violent freedom struggle in the world today and has been self-funded to date.
“When he visited in June, His Holiness the Dalai Lama said to me at the press conference in Melbourne ‘Time is running out, that’s true. If the present situation remains another 10-15 years, I think most probably, Tibet will finish’. This documentary is my effort to spread the message that something must be done about Tibet before it’s too late” said Lara.
The documentary will raise global awareness about issues in Tibet such as Human Rights abuses, Environmental Destruction and the destruction of Indigenous Culture . It aims to use the spotlight on China and the Olympics in 2008 to gain maximum global exposure for Tibet. It explores the issue that time is running out for Tibet and looks at the complexities faced by this nation as it continues its non-violent freedom struggle.
To help fund the documentary, 2008 Pictures of Tibet calendars, featuring stunning photography by Claudio Raschella taken in Tibet in July are available for sale at www.thetibetproject.com
