By Tenzin Tsering
Dharamsala, August 5 – Zurich will witness the second edition of Tibet Film Festival for two days on 29 and 30 October 2010, an event initiative of a non-profit organisation called ‘Filming for Tibet’ based in Switzerland.
The organisation’s debut production is “Leaving Fear Behind” made by the jailed Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen who was sentenced to six years in prison by China. The film exposed China’s ‘wronged policies’ and the Tibetan people’s loyalty to the exile Tibetan leader the Dalai Lama. The festival is dedicated to Dhondup Wangchen.
The Tibetan Film Festival will showcase feature films, new documentaries and experimental films produced by Tibetans in the last two years. The focus will be on short films produced by Tibetans.
Organisers have announced a five minute short film competition on the theme of ‘identity’ and invite all Tibetan filmmakers and enthusiasts to participate in the event.
“The competition will give young Tibetan filmmakers an opportunity to make their first steps in the world of filmmaking. We want to present to the public a wide range of films made by Tibetans and we have also reached out to Tibetan filmmakers inside Tibet though it is very difficult to present some of their work” said Coordinator of the film festival, Ganden Tethong.
Calling it a unique effort, the festival director Lobsang Sotrug said “ We want to present productions by Tibetans, a program that is also attractive for an international audience.”
Among the films that will be screened during the two day festival, exile productions such as “Open Road” will be shown.
Filming For Tibet started the Tibetan Film Festival in cooperation with Tibetan Youth Association in Europe (TYAE).
