IMAGERIGHT DHARAMSHALA, October 20: Hundreds of Tibetans and supporters attended the first day of the Fifth Tibet Film Festival that kicked off Saturday at the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.
“Film is a powerful medium. Over the last few years we have seen a growing crackdown by China on various Tibetan artistes in Tibet. This festival not only highlights the significance of filmmaking but also encourages and admires the works like that of Dhondup Wangchen to whom this festival is dedicated,” said Tenzin Jigdal, Program Director of Students for a Free Tibet, India.
The two day festival will screen more than twenty films by Tibetan film-makers inside and outside Tibet including ‘Who killed Johnny’, ‘Crossings’, ‘Khayr’, ‘The Silent Holy Stones’ and ‘Stranger in my Native Land’. 9 films of five minutes each were also screened as part of the short film contest.
“Tibet Film Festival focuses on films made by Tibetan film-makers from both Tibet and in exile and supports their work by highlighting them at the festival thereby providing platform to aspiring film-makers,” said Tenzin Dhondup, coordinator of the Tibet Film Festival.
Similar festival is also simultaneously held at Zurich, Switzerland.
During the opening ceremony, Tenzin Norbu, son of Dhondup Wangchen read a birthday message for his father’s 39th birthday. The letter reads, “It’s been almost six years since you left us. The moment you left was one of the most unforgettable moments in my life. And Dad, I feel very proud of being your son. So, today grapping this opportunity, I want to say thank you for being my support, my guide and my strength. Yesterday, today and always, Happy Birthday Dad.”
A renowned Tibetan film-maker Tsering Tashi Gyalthan said, “Right now, I think Tibetan film-making is at very early stage, we are just starting out. We have some very talented filmmakers but we are all at very beginning stage right now but I feel very positive and its quite exciting time because we all know each other. We have a very small community. I think if we all work together, we can really start a new way of Tibetan film movement.”
A campaign ‘Unchain the Truth’ was launched, calling for the safe return of jailed Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, who is expected to be released next year.
Dedicated to Dhondup Wangchen, the Film festival is organized jointly by Filming for Tibet and Students for a Free Tibet, India. Dhondup Wangchen conceived and shot the film “Leaving Fear Behind” (Tib:Jigdrel) to portray life in Tibet in advance of the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. He was arrested on March 26, 2008 for filming interviews with ordinary Tibetans on their views on the Beijing Olympics, the Dalai Lama and Chinese government’s policies in Tibet.
