Tibet Film Festival 2023 Opens at Sarah, Dharamsala in honor of late Pema Tsetan
By Tsering Choephel
DHARAMSALA, 3 Oct: Tibet Film Festival (TFF) 2023 in India is set to kick off at the College of Higher Tibetan Studies, Sarah, today at 6:30 in the evening. The organisers have announced an “exciting lineup of experimental and bold new short films from Tibetan filmmakers across the diaspora”, scheduled to be screened from October 3 – 8 October. The TFF edition this year is held in honour of the late acclaimed Tibetan Filmmaker Pema Tsetan who passed away in May.
On the first day of the event in Sarah, a conversation on ‘Tibetan Cinema: A Unique Storytelling Language’ will take place. The panelists for this discussion include four Tibetan filmmakers and a screenwriter: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, Tsering Tashi Gyalthang, Kunsang Kyirong, and Jamyang Phuntsok. Moderating the conversation will be Buchung D Sonam, the writer, and founder of the Tibetan publishing house blackneckbooks.
Following the discussion, the audience will be treated to a screening of ‘Looking For a Lady With Fangs And a Moustache,’ a feature film by Khentse Norbu Rinpoche.
The TTF team expresses their anticipation to engage a wider Tibetan audience this year, ranging from school students to artists, writers, and college students in and around Dharamsala.
In the upcoming days, TFF has organized film screening programs at 7 community venues, including Upper TCV, Dhora Cafe at Gamru, The Other Space at Jogiwara, and Hope Gallery at McLeod Ganj.
Having already held successful festivals in London in May and Berlin and Zurich in September, the Tibet Film Festival (TFF) remains dedicated to showcasing films made by Tibetan filmmakers or those where Tibetans have substantial involvement, even if created by non-Tibetan filmmakers.
The roots of TFF trace back to Switzerland in 2009, inspired by the self-taught Tibetan filmmaker Dhondup Wangchen, who faced imprisonment for his 2008 film ‘Leaving Fear Behind.’
The Tibet Film Festival in Dharamsala was founded in 2011 by Tseten Allemann and Nyima Thondup, a couple from Switzerland, who networked with Tibetan groups and organizations in and around Dharamshala in order to present their work together.
