Screening of Archive Films on Tibet in Brazil[Wednesday, 25 August 2010, 10:00 a.m.]
Rio de Janeiro: A
series of rare archive films on Tibet are being screened at Caixa
Cultural Institute in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from 24 to 29 August
2010. The Caixa Cultural Institute, the pride of Rio de Janeiro City,
facilitates several theaters, music shows, dance and spectacular
exhibitions of arts and craft from time to time. During this
week-long screening of films on Tibet, the residents of Rio de Janeiro
City will get an opportunity to get a glimpse of historical Tibet as
well as the reconstruction efforts of the Tibetan refugees in India in
the early years of exile. In the historical section, the films
include three silent films taken by the German expeditions into Tibet
in the 1920’s as well as a historical record of His Holiness the Dalai
Lama taking the rigorous oral examination for his Geshe Lharmpa degree
in Lhasa (filmed between 1958 and 1959 weeks prior to the Tibetan
Uprising and subsequent flight of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to India).In
the section on early exile story, the films include: Tashi Writes a
Letter, a 1964 documentary which looks intimately at early Tibetan
exile life in Darjeeling, India; Tibetan Story, a 1965 documentary
which examines the problems and needs of the Tibetan refugees in the
early stage of their exile and roles played by Church organisations in
meeting the needs; Home Away from Home, a documentary directed by
Ramesh Gupta which records the early exile years of the Tibetan
refugees in India; and Raid Into Tibet, a 1964 documentary made by
George Patterson about a secret mission by Tibetan guerillas based in
Mustang, Nepal, to raid a Chinese military truck convoy inside Tibet. The
film screening programme is jointly organised by the Caixa Cultural
Institute and Tibetan Film Archive Project, which was initiated by
Tenzin Phuntsog, a Columbia University graduate in Fine Arts, in
collaboration with the Office of Tibet, New York. On 28
August, there will be a panel discussion by Tenzin Phuntsog and
Brazilean art critic and curator Fernando Oliva on the restoration work
of rare films on Tibet.–Report filed by Tsewang Phuntso, Liaison Officer – Latin America, Office of Tibet, New York
