November 23, 2007

DREAMING LHASA



DREAMING LHASA
India/UK, 2005
35mm, 90 minutes, Tibetan/English

Directed by
RITU SARIN and TENZING SONAM

Produced by
RITU SARIN

Written by
TENZING SONAM

Executive Producers
JEREMY THOMAS
RICHARD GERE
RAJ SINGH

Director of Photography
RANJAN PALIT

Editor
PAUL DOSAJ

Music
ANDY SPENCE


Synopsis



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.
“The beauty of life’s realities! A wonderfully ‘different’ film view of Tibet”
- Neue Zürcher Zeitung

“It's a pleasure to come across Dreaming Lhasa, a drama that unfolds amid crystalline backdrops…the images have a translucent purity; you feel as if you're seeing the world anew.”
- Boston Globe

“Beautifully shot imagery…a delicate and graceful exploration of cultural identity.”
- San Francisco Bay Guardan

“A film of both personal honesty and social insight…a keenly felt and well-told story of nations and the individual people who form them.”
- New York Sun

“This quiet little film is well propelled by the powers of gentle persuasion and emotional subtlety.”
- The Hindustan Times
Film Festivals:

More than 30 international film festivals, including:


30th Toronto International Film Festival, 2005

53rd San Sebastian International Film Festival, 2005

10th International Film Festival of Kerala, 2005

2006 Bangkok International Film Festival

24th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival, 2006

Human Rights Watch International Film Festival, London, 2006

Voted "Best of Fest"
54th Trento Film Festival, Italy, 2006
Audience Award

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