What Remains of Us
May 26, 2012
Type..................: Feature film Video Format..........: XVID Audio format..........: MP3 160 Kbps Audio Language........: Tibetan & English Subtitles.............: English (Hardcoded for Tibetan parts) Duration..............: 01:16:39
Synopsis
Kalsang Dolma, a young Tibetan refugee in Quebec, crosses the Himalayas. Into the largest prison in the world, she carries a video message recorded by the Dalai Lama. Since 1950, Tibetans inside the country have been hoping that China will allow him to return. Families gather around the tiny screen, transfixed, and for the first time, the voices of this fragile people under the yoke of suffering reach us from across the distance.
Shot between 1996 and 2004 without the knowledge of the Chinese authorities, using small digital cameras, What Remains Of Us takes viewers to the heart of the tragedy that has consumed Tibetan society for over half a century. The film tackles the crucial issue of individual and collective responsibility towards three generations of Tibetans who, despite the disappearance of 1.2 million of their fellow citizens, have always refused to yield to violence.
Richard Gere is My Hero
May 5, 2012
Type..................: Feature film Container file........: AVI Audio Language........: Tibetan Subtitles.............: English (Hardcoded) Duration..............: 01:29:41 Movie.................: www.tibetanfilms.com
Synopsis
Richard Gere is My Hero is a heartwarming, character-driven romantic comedy with political undertones by Tashi Wangchuk and Tsultrim Dorjee. The story follows a group of young Tibetan friends living in McLeod Ganj, India, headquarters of the Tibetan Government-in-exile.
Nyima, who calls himself Richard and is a great admirer of Richard Gere for his acting and activism, has dreams of becoming a famous actor and helping his beloved motherland. While Nyima and his friends go on whirlwind adventures through the town, a love triangle almost detours them from meeting their goal of performing in the Tibetan Youth Congress’ Drama Competition. Through the escapades of Nyima and his friends, Wangchuk and Dorjee show us how the many layers of life – including the romantic and the political – can be imitated in art.
Travellers and Magicians
April 14, 2012
Type..................: Feature film Container file........: AVI Total Bitrate.........: 785 Kbps Audio format..........: MP3 112 Kbps Audio Language........: Dzongkha Subtitles.............: English (Hardcoded) Duration..............: 01:47:56
Synopsis
Young government official Dhondup dreams of escaping to America while stuck in a ravishingly beautiful but isolated village. When the first chance arrives, he immediately heads for town and an awaiting visa, but things don’t go quite as planned. Missing the bus, he hitchhikes with an elderly apple seller, a sage young monk, and an old man travelling with his beautiful daughter Sonam Lhamo.
Along the way, the perceptive yet mischievous monk tells Dhondup a story of another young man who sought a land far away: a tale of lust, jealousy and murder that holds up a mirror to the restless Dhondup and his blossoming attraction to the innocent Sonam.
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Tibet in Song
March 31, 2012
Type..................: Documentary Container file........: AVI Audio format..........: MP3 128 Kbps Audio Language........: Tibetan Subtitles.............: English Resolution............: 592x336 Duration..............: 01:26:17
Synopsis
Tibet in Song is both a celebration of traditional Tibetan folk music and a harrowing journey into the past fifty years of cultural repression inside
Chinese controlled Tibet. Director and former Tibetan political prisoner, Ngawang Choephel, weaves a story of beauty, pain, brutality and resilience, introducing Tibet to the world in a way never before seen on film.
The beauty of traditional Tibetan folk music is showcased through a variety of working songs, songs about family and the beauty of the land. These rarely seen performances are deftly juxtaposed against startling footage of the early days of the Chinese invasion and a concise explanation of the factors leading to the Dalai Lama’s flight into exile in 1959. Ngawang Choephel sets the stage for a unique exploration of the Chinese impact on Tibetans inside Tibet.
What follows is a heartbreaking tale of cultural exploitation and resistance, which includes Ngawang’s own eventual imprisonment for recording the very songs at the center of the film. Tibet in Song provides raw and uncensored look at Tibet as it stands today, a country plagued by Chinese brutality, yet willing to fight for the existence of its unique cultural heritage.
The Shakabpa Lectures
December 17, 2011
Cover art from One Hundred Thousand Moons
Type..................: Lecture Artist................: Tsepon W.D. Shakabpa Audio Format..........: MP3 Audio Language........: Tibetan Year..................: 1985 Format................: MP3 Bitrate...............: Variable Source................: DVD
Synopsis
The Shakabpa Lectures were given by Tsepon W. D. Shakabpa in 1985 at the Library of Tibetan Works and Archives (LTWA) at Dharamsala. He read passages from his Advanced History (now available in English) and then analyzed and expounded on the events and personalities at length, and explained his source materials. He also went into lengthy discussions on controversies and even associated gossip and rumours, which he could not have included in his book. At one point Shakabpa even sings the old accountant’s song – for he had started his official career in the financial department.[1]
The lectures can be purchased from the Audio/Visual section of the LTWA at Dharamsala. For those who are not able to get it from there, we will be releasing them here in a series.
[1] Details sourced from Jamyang Norbu ‘s blog at www.jamyangnorbu.com
© Copyright of these Lectures belong to the Library of Tibetan Works & Archives.
