This locally made film by Bay Area Tibetans highlights numerous issues and misfits of Tibetan society against the backdrop of modern scientific world. It is a story of a Tibetan writer and his interaction with a conservative Tibetan neighbor who performs divination. The theme of the story is that Tibetans should stop relying on divination and predictions. The film is directed by Tashi Wangchuk and produced by Tsering Dorjee Bawa, and runs for about 45 minutes and is in Tibetan with no subtitles. The evening’s program includes a question and answer session with the film’s director, producer, and casts – all of whom are Bay Area residents.
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Kundun is a 1997 film written by Melissa Mathison and directed by Martin Scorsese. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, a grand nephew of the Dalai Lama, stars as the adult Dalai Lama.
“Kundun” (Wylie: Sku-mdun in Tibetan), meaning “presence”, is a title by which the Dalai Lama is addressed. Kundun was released only a few months after Seven Years in Tibet, sharing the latter’s location and its depiction of the Dalai Lama at several stages of his youth, though Kundun covers a period three times longer.
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Karma returns from a journey with the sad news that Tinle’s son has died in an accident. As head of the village, Tinle uses all his power to punish Karma for his son’s death, and forbids him to lead an upcoming yak caravan. The conflict divides the village into two factions, with both men deciding to make the same journey separately. Tensions finally come to a head when Karma and Tinle’s two caravans cross paths high up in the Himalayas.]]>
Along the highest mountain passes of the Himalayas, tough, intrepid Jalan (Milind Soman) and his gang earn their living by stealing from unsuspecting travelers. Abiding by their own, unique codes of honor and dividing the spoils equally, all is routine until the arrival of the mystifying, beautiful Ushna (Mylene Jampanoi). Appearing mysteriously after the raid of a pilgrim caravan, Ushna adheres to Jalan, claiming to have seen him in her dreams, and refusing to leave his side. Sensing the unease of the rest of the men, Ushna offers to help them in their endeavors, under condition that they not ask why or how she is able to guide them to success. In the time that follows, Ushna leads the gang to tremendous exploits, gaining the respect of the men, and the admiration of Jalan, who begins to fall passionately in love with this mysterious woman. As their success increases, seemingly unstoppable, so the love between Jalan and Ushna mounts in intensity, until they seem to have entered a world of their own. No longer heeding of the world around them, Jalan and Ushna venture too far in their exploits, progressing from the theft of material objects to tampering with elements that should never be tampered with; stealing energy, luck and even the powers of levitation, the two cross over into the bounds of the supernatural. Word of the duo and their strange exploits reaches the shrewd, robust Yeti (Naseeruddin Shah), who takes after them with his three experienced bounty hunters. In the confusion of pursuit, Jalan and Ushna face a temporary separation, the shock of which drives each to desperation. Having lost luck, wealth and friends, the fated two are nevertheless fortuitously reunited. Their passion running higher than ever, they vow never to be separated again, even if this entails deceiving fate and cheating mortality. But life always reserves surprises. Written by Monsoon Films
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Tibetan: lha sa’i mi lam) is the 2005 Tibetan language debut feature film of veteran documentary filmmakers, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, who have been making films about various aspects of Tibet under the banner of White Crane Films since 1990. Written by Tenzing, a first-generation Tibetan born and brought up in exile, Dreaming Lhasa is perhaps, the first Tibetan feature film to explore the state of exile and the issues of identity, culture and politics as they affect the Tibetan refugee community in India.
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