Films at 9th Tibet Film Festival 2017
Premiere at TFF
Tharlo
Pema Tseden | 2015 | Tibet | 123' | Drama/Comedy | Tibetan with English Subtitles
Tharlo is a Tibetan shepherd who lives for himself far away from civilization. He is uneducated, but can recite whole speeches of Mao, which he had to learn by heart as a child. One day he goes into town to obey the rule that every person must be in possession of an identity card. He discovers life in the city and learns how to
Mystic Mountain
Tsering Dhondup | 2015 | Nepal | 86’ | Tibetan with English Subtitles
Mystic Mountain - a psycho-thriller from the Himalayas - tells of a missing corpse. In search of his father's dead body, the young Tsewang comes into contact with black magic. The director Tsering Dhondup, now based in the USA, was born in Lhasa, Tibet and fled into exile at the age of ten.
Jigden: The Beginning of the End
Shenpenn Khymsar | 2017 | USA | 23’ | Tibetan with English Subtitles
Illegal gambling, unscrupulous murders, fully tattooed Tibetan mafiosi, everything a real gangster movie just needs. Director and leading actor Shenpenn Khymsar stages the first Tibetan gangster film in the middle of New York - Peng!
The Sacred Arrow
Pema Tseden | Tibet | 2014 | 96' | Drama | Tibetan with English Subtitles
The Sacred Arrow is a love drama from a picture book. Two villages that have been rival for years meet every year for an arrow bow tournament. The winner deserves fame and glory. A forbidden love brings different problems to light and the village peace in danger. Beautiful Tibetans from Amdo, intense colours and a simple plot make this film an experience for the whole family.
Royal Cafe
Tenzin Dazel, Rémy Caritey | 2016 | France | Drama | 39' | Tibetan, English, German with English Subtitles
ROYAL CAFE is the second film by Paris-based designer and director Tenzin Dazel. The film, a doc-fiction, tells the story of Tenzin Dazel herself, a Tibetan woman who wants to make a film about Tibetans in Paris. A courageous and inspiring film by a director who meticulously examines her work and her surroundings.
Reprise Screening
Kokonor
Dorje Tsering Chenaktsang ( Jangbu) | 2009 | Tibet | Doc. | 53` | Tibetan with English Subtitles
The Tibetan nomads of the Mokru clan have lived on the shores of Lake Kokonor (Lake Qinghai) since time immemorial. Posing for Chinese tourists is one of their few sources of income today. Dorje Tsering's third film provides a rare, multifaceted insight into this marginalized community, which sees itself trapped in a cycle of poverty and discrimination.