‘Four River, Six Ranges’: Tibetan Film Bags JDIFF’s Best Soundtrack Award
By Tenzin Chokyi
DHARAMSALA 28 April: Tibetan film ‘Four River Six Ranges’ written and directed by Tibetan filmmaker, Shenpen Khymsar, has been awarded the prestigious 2025 Julien Dubuque International Film Festival’s best soundtrack award in a feature film on 26th April (US standard Time).
According to Khymsar’s social media handles, the film includes four main tracks that were composed before the shooting of the film and the remaining tracks were composed in about a year.
The Director has collaborated with renowned Nepali Musician Rohit Shakya and Music producer Soorya Musiq from Chennai to compose the soundtrack for the Tibetan Film
In his post, Khymsar extended his gratitude to the monks of Triten Norbutse Bon Monastery in Kathmandu and the Prague Symphony orchestra for their valuable sound contribution. He also acknowledged Vithal Bhagwan Gore for mixing the soundtrack and Rohit, a designer from South India at Mix Studios, for his role in crafting the overall sound design.
Reflecting on the Chinese occupation of Tibet, his exilic birth and early life in the hill town of Darjeeling, India, Khymsar, in his acceptance speech, spoke about the influence of Western music, shaped in part by colonial legacies and how it saved his life.
He stated that, from a young age, music became a powerful medium for him to channel his deep emotions, including rage and anger, as a rebellious child grappling with the trauma of displacement. It helped him process the pain of losing his homeland and witnessing his elders grow old and pass away in exile, unable to return to their native land.
“Honestly, it saved my life. I would have died a long time ago, because I was always a very rebellious child, a little too rebellious”.
While acknowledging the collective efforts of his team, he added, “ I wanted to do something that no Tibetan or Himalayan person has ever done before, not because to prove a point, but I wanted to lift the spirit of our Tibetan people in exile. I wanted to lift the spirit of the young Tibetans, to show them that if I, Shenphen, can do it, they can do it too”.
Khymsar has not just written and directed the film himself, but he has also co-produced it with Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang.
The film delves into the history of the ‘Chushi Gangdruk’, which translates to ‘Four Rivers, Six Ranges’ is described as having presented the Tibetan nationalist sentiment in a ‘definitely militant and assertive form’, deviating from the predominant portrayal of Tibetan nationalism through the lens of exile and suffering.
The film, based on co-producer Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang’s book “Flight at the Cuckoo’s Behest: The Life and Times of a Tibetan Freedom Fighter”, had its world premiere at the 54th International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR) in early February 2025. Screened multiple times at the IFFR, it is said to have received a warm reception, with tickets selling out quickly.
Apart from its appearances at the International Film Festivals, special screenings of the film that chronicles the story of Tibetan guerrilla fighters from eastern Tibet who fought against the Chinese invasion in the 1950s were also organised for Tibetan communities in Dharamsala, Europe and the US.
Chushi Gangdruk was formally established on 10 June 1958. Andruk Gonpo Tashi is the founder of the organisation. The voluntary resistance force was responsible for providing safe passage to His Holiness the Dalai Lama to exile in India in 1959.