It’s about awareness, and more.
The Urban Institute for Contemporary Arts (UICA) is hosting a Tibetan film festival this weekend in an effort to help educate the West Michigan community about Tibetan culture and the current situation in Tibet.
Tibet has been occupied by China for more than 50 years. In that time, the people of Tibet have been subjected to religious persecution, human rights violations, and the destruction of religious and historic buildings.
“We hope the film festival will help raise awareness about what’s happening in Tibet,” said Glenn Freeman, president of TIBETmichigan, a Tibet support group founded in 1995. “We hope the films provide a better idea of the culture and current political situation in Tibet.”
The UICA, TIBETmichigan and Grand Valley State University’s Students for a Free Tibet organized the film festival.
The film festival will feature five Tibet-related films:
- “Wheel of Time” Friday, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. explores the Buddhist Kalachakra Initiation. The film by Werner Herzog’s includes interviews with the Dalai Lama, access to secret rituals as well as footage of a pilgrimage to the holy Mount Kailash in Tibet.
- “Home to Tibet” Saturday, Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. offers a view into the world of Tibet and its people. Interweaving archival footage, interviews, and scenes from intimate family interactions, the film follows the journey of the exiled Tibetan stone mason, Sonam Lama, from his home in Massachusetts to his occupied homeland for the first time since his escape 12 years earlier.
- “Samsara” Saturday, Nov. 4 at 7 p.m. is a spiritual love-story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh, Himalayas. Samsara explains one man’s struggle to find spiritual enlightenment by renouncing the world. And one woman’s struggle to keep her enlightened love and life in the world.
- “Vajra Sky Over Tibet” Sunday, Nov. 5 at 1 p.m. is a cinematic pilgrimage to some of the most revered venues and festivals still surviving in Tibet. As part of the film, Tibetans respond to the denial of the human right to practice one’s religion without interference. As interviews were not appropriate because of likely retribution, Vajra Sky employs the voices of Tenzin Choegyal and Dadon, both Tibetans in exile.
- “Travelers and Magicians” – Sunday, Nov. 5 at 7 p.m. tells the story of two men embarking on parallel, if separate, journeys. It is a fable of lust, jealousy and murder as the main characters search for a better and different way of life.
Freeman said all of the films featured in the festival have never been screened in the Grand Rapids area before.
“We’re hoping to provide something new and of high quality and educational value to those who attend,” he said.
As part of the process of selecting films for the festival, Freeman said he and a handful of other people watched between 70 or 80 Tibetan-related films.
The five films selected to be screened at the festival are top-notch films that deal with an array of diverse topics, he said.
Tickets for the film festival are $15 for the entire series or $7 for individual films. Freeman said all profits generated from the festival will donated to an exiled Tibetan nunnery in India.
The UICA is located at 41 Sheldon Blvd. SE. For more information, call the UICA at 454-9451 or visit www.uica.org
