Dreaming Lhasa
DREAMING LHASA
A feature film by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam90 minutes, 2008. NTSC DVD
Tibetan with English subtitles. English. India.
Karma, a Tibetan filmmaker from New York, goes to Dharamsala, the Dalai Lama’s exile headquarters in northern India, to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. She wants to reconnect with her roots but is also escaping a deteriorating relationship back home.
One of Karma’s interviewees is Dhondup, an enigmatic ex-monk who has just escaped from Tibet. He confides in her that his real reason for coming to India is to fulfill his dying mother’s last wish, to deliver a charm box to a long-missing resistance fighter. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest, which becomes a journey into Tibet’s fractured past and a voyage of self-discovery.
REVIEWS
World Premiere at the 2005 Toronto International Film FestivalEuropean Premiere at the 2005 San Sebastian International Film Festival
Audience Award, 54th Trento Film Festival, Italy, 2006
Best of Fest, Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, London, 2006
New York Times review
Slant Magazine review
CREDITS
Directors: Ritu Sarin, Tenzing SonamProducer: Ritu Sarin
Writer: Tenzing Sonam
Featuring: Tenzin Chokyi Gyatso, Jampa Kalsang, Tenzin Jigme, Phutnsok Namgyal Dumkhang, Tsering Topgyal Phurpatsang, Tenzin Wangdrak
Music: Andy Spence
Cinematography: Ranjan Palit
Editor: Paul Dosaj
