By Tenzin Choephel
Phayul Correspondent
Kathmandu,22nd September – Tibetans in Kathmandu have been eagerly waiting to watch the ‘Dreaming Lhasa’, a film by Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin with Tenzin Choekyi, Jampa Kalsang and Tenzin Jigme. It was finally screened today at Gopi Krishna Multiplex in Kathmandu by the Yarlung United Association, an organization of a group of young Tibetans in Kathmandu. There were about 1000 Tibetans, it was a sold out show and some were even sitting on the floor to watch the film. However, due to whatever reasons, the quality of the picture was poor as it was shown in dvd and some of the viewers complained about it.
Dreaming Lhasa is the first dramatic feature film by documentary filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam, it is about Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York who comes to Dharamsala to make a film about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. In the course she meets Dhondup who has recently escaped from Tibet, Karma’s assistant in Dharamsala is Jigme, a local Tibetan boy who is an aspiring rock musician, full of attitude but basically confused, torn between wanting to do something meaningful for a homeland he has never seen and plotting ways of getting to America and the “good life”. Jigme instinctively dislikes Dhondup and tries to discourage Karma from getting involved. But something about Dhondup’s quiet dignity touches her and she decides to help him. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the vortex of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet’s fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery.
More details of the film can be accessed at www.dreaminglhasa.com
Sonam Sangpo, one of the viewers said, “it is a truly everything Tibetan, I love the movie, it has touched almost every part of Tibetan society except for the Tibetan settlements of South India, but maybe that’s not relevant to the story, anyway, it is just amazing, we would really like to see such more quality films in the future, but the dvd quality is not good enough to show on silver screen, I would definitely like to watch it in cinema format”.
