69. Tibetan crisis captured on 80mm

The Asianage - January 30, 2006

Tibet, a land of beauty and mysticism, is considered to be one of the most romantic places on earth. But beyond the divine mountain ranges, saffron robes and ageless traditions lies the struggle of millions of Tibetans who have either been living in exile or under the Chinese rule. Dreaming Lhasa is the first film to capture both the majesty of Tibetan culture and the complexity of its ties to the outside world. Screened at the India Habitat Centre recently, the film was given a thunderous applause for the way it dealt with the contemporary reality of Tibet and Tibetans living all over the world. Made by acclaimed documentary filmmaker Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, the film took five years in making. The husband wife duo tackled the issue closest to their heart - the political and cultural reality of Tibet under the Chinese occupation. "We have always loved cinema and wanted to graduate from making documentaries. Fiction entails more organised work as it requires coordination of more than 50 people at a time," says Ritu. "Also, fiction gives ample freedom to explore an idea and adding one's own creative inputs," says Tenzing. % Finding actors was a tough task for the filmmakers. "In the Tibetan world there aren't many actors, so we had to work with non-actors which was very challenging," says Tenzing. Dreaming Lhasa is a story about Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York, who goes to Dharamsala, to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. There she meets Dhondup (Jampa Kalsang), an ex-monk who escaped Tibet after being imprisoned for resisting Chinese rule. The monk wants Karma's help in delivering a treasured gahu, a charm box, to a missing man named Loga. Karma finds herself falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet's fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery. Speaking on the occasion, Rajiv Mehrotra, managing trustee of the Public Service Broadcasting Trust, was all praise for the film. "Dreaming Lhasa is a gentle but powerful and moving film on the Tibetan crisis. Everybody enjoyed it, " says Rajiv.