Tibetan Film to premiere at 15th Annual New Asian Cinema Festival at UMass Amherst

The film A Place in the Sun – Stories from Tibet in Exile is set to premiere October 23 at the 15th annual New Asia Cinema: Across Borders Film Festival. The film, directed by Sonam Tseten, and produced by Tibet TV originated in India, is an account of Tibetan people’s identity, hope, resilience, nationalistic fervor and quest for homeland, all of which anchors the vision of the filmmaker and the characters in the film.

A Place in the Sun is an evocative, poignant new documentary on Tibet’s quest for freedom and rights, based on the experiences, aspirations and achievements of the Tibetans in exile narrated through the daily life stories of four protagonists. Each character, with their unique responsibilities, shares the same core, of an unassailable Tibet and an unflinching aspiration to return to Tibet. Intermingled through these stories are the service, leadership and focal strength the Central Tibetan Administration (the Tibetan government based in exile, India) provides to Tibetans in exile, diaspora, and as well as those inside Tibet.

The New Asia Cinema is a semester-long annual film festival held at the University of Massachusetts. The public festival now in its 15th year, was founded by Associate Professor Anne Ciecko, Communication, who is also the primary curator. This year, Ciecko is collaborating with Communication doctoral students Tenzin Sharling and Diana Kasem.

“The screening of A Place in the Sun is extremely important because of its unique focus on the resilience of Tibetans in exile,” said Sharling. “It’s a unique opportunity for UMass and the entire community in the valley to see it for the first time.”

The festival is connected to a 1-credit Independent Study Film Course, because of its educational component. But it is free and open to anyone who wants to attend the event. The film will be shown on Wednesday, October 23 at 7:30 p.m. in Isenberg School of Management room 137 (Flavin Family Auditorium).

This event is being sponsored by UMass Department of Communication, UMass Interdepartmental Film Program, UMass Asian Arts and Culture Program, and Tibet TV.

The film’s director Sonam Tseten will be present at the screening, and will be available for a question and answer session following the screening. Ngodup Tsering, Representative of His Holiness the Dalai Lama to North America will also be present as the guest of honor.

For more information please contact event curator Tenzin Dhardon Sharling (tsharling@umass.edu) or festival curator Anne Ciecko (ciecko@comm.umass.edu).

 

--Omadelle Nelson Bowser, Manager of Academic Programs