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| Puru Subedi | Posted
on 22-May-03 11:39 AM
But that's not all. Thought-provoking and entertaining theater presentations will be made by: -- Dr. Hemanta Raj Mishra, on the creation of Sagarmatha and Royal Chitwan National Parks -- Carroll Dunham on Polyandry, women and devlopment in far northwestern Nepal -- Lodi Gari and Jamyang Norbu engage in a conversation on Tibetan history and Tibetans' ongoing struggle; -- Broughton Coburn presents his classic illustrated program, "Aama's Journey: A Pilgrimage between Continents and Cultures. -- Restoration expert John Sanday speaks on the conservation of the unique cultural monuments of upper Mustang. -- a broadcast phone conversation with Sir Edmund Hillary, on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary Jubillee celebrations being held in Kathmandu. The festival also features other films and events that relate to Nepal, Tibet and the Himalaya. Photographers Mani Lama, Thomas Kelly and Kiran Chitrakar will be showing photographs at local galleries. Films to be screened include: Mukundo Shot entirely in Nepal by Tsering Rhitar Sherpa with an exclusively Nepali cast and crew. A feature film that neatly straddles the lives of contemporary Nepalese families and the traditional ghosts and gods that still hover above them. Shiva's Matted Locks Every year thousands of Hindus are drawn up into the mountains to the source of the Ganges, and for the hardies, a venerated glacier close to the Tibetan border. To follow the Ganges upstream with English writer William Dalrymple is to experience a pilgrimage of unimaginable scale, through the eyes of an observer whose wry commentary is equally pungent and poignant in his description of poets and prophets, sadhus and sinners. The Dragon Bride A fascinating look at traditional village life in Northwestern Nepal that gives a multi-dimensional look at cultures holding firmly to patterns unfamiliar to non-Nepalese, yet layered with the nuance of change. Lost Treasures of Tibet Just across the border from Nepal's Himalayan Kingdom of Mustang over six thousand Buddhist temples have been detroyed in the course of the Sinification of Tibet. As a consequence, the survival of Mustang's most prized monastery or gompa is surely a subject of intense importance to Mustang's citizen, but a also to a larger world intent upon maintaining the last bastions of a once-mighty religious and cultural empire. Introduced by producer/director Liesl Clark, with commentary by chief conservator John Sanday. Numafung A film produced, dierected and to be introduced by Nabin Subba. Nepal has 75 castes and ethnic groups. Each of these has a distinct culture and tradition. The Limbus living south of Kanchenjunga have their own language and identity, and during the marriage the groom has to pay the bride's family in gold in return for the bride's beauty, a "sunauli-Rapauli" tradition. Begun as a device to give security to the bride, it has now become an exploitative tool. Numafung is a beautiful young girl who becomes enmeshed in these cultural intrigues, yet fights to have her own life. The dictates of her Limbu heritage ultimately set a chain of events in motion, and the entire community becomes ensnared in the web. The Living of Jogimara In early 2002, in the deepening violence of the Maoist Insurgency that was ripping through Nepal, 17 construction workers from the small hill town of Jogimara, Dhading were killed by the Nepali army while building a runway in another area of the country. They were branded "terrorists" by the state, and their families did not get their bodies, specific information, or any compensation. Some families have conducted last rites for their loved ones; others wait, hoping their relatives will return. To the Magic Mountain Among all the efforts to capture the complexity of family and village life in Nepal, none has ever gotten it better than this lovely story. Detailing the affairs of one family confronting the grave illness of their dying elder, and still intent upon making a pilgrimage of redemption to Mount Kailas, the film is wonderfully accessible, and rich in substance, understanding and compassion. Beyond the sense of revelation it brings, it is simply stunning to watch. Serthar The Chinese government would have us believe that the repression of religious freedom and the destruction of monasteries is a thing of the past in Tibet. This recently shot footage exposing the forced dismemberment of this religious community argues the contrary. Cry of the Snow Lion This award-winning, newly-released film documents Tibet's occupation and struggle for autonomy. To be introduced by filmmaker Tom Piozet. In Search of Kundun Martin Scorcese's epic about the life of the Dalai Lama, Kundun, never really made it in the mainstream, but this piece should. Documenting the emergence of the concept and the making of the film, it provides an intimate look at Scorcese's vision and the complexities of bringing it to the big screen. It also tells the story of the Chinese invasion of Tibet as a real-world complement to the filming process. The Tibetans appearing in the film, all non-professionals, convey the true sense of loss better than any actor ever could. It is a film buff's film, as well as anyone with an abiding interest in the evolution of Tibet's struggle to survive under the Chinese occupation. One H.E.A.R.T The statistics on maternal mortality in Tibet are shocking: one out of approximately 30-35 women who become pregnant does not survive that pregnancy. One H.E.A.R.T. was formed after a team of University of Utah practitioners returned from Tibet, where they provided obstetric, gynecologic and preventive medical care in the Nakchu and Lhasa prefectures. This team of physicians, nurse practitioners, and a certified nurse midwife identified the obstacles to the provision of high quality, low-cost healthcare: undertrained healthcare staff, outdated equipment, few supplies and a lack of trained health workers practicing in remote areas. Now dedicated to solving these problems, the One H.E.A.R.T. team will be here discussing their work and its impacts on the lives of Tibetan women and their babies. We Home Chaps If the arts have the power to lead us down paths we would never otherwise take, this jewel of a movie does that and more. At first blush, it is hard to imagine that any of us would see ourselves interested in an all-school reunion at Dr. Graham's Homes, a school in the Himalayas founded by a Scottish Presbyterian minister 100 years before. However, this remarkable institution, originally a haven for destitute Anglo-Indian and Tibetan children, is here seen through the eyes of its returning students, now adults of all ages and nationalities, including the Tibetan-Nepali filmmaker and Dr. Graham graduate (with further degrees from Amherst and Columbia), Kesang Tseten. What results is a sublime and affecting experience, delicately structured to allow the various stories to blend together and leave us a sense of awe as to how this seemingly austere institution could have provided so much love and direction to its diverse students. Identify, alienation, kindness, nurturing, tolerance and education a look at cultures in transitions, and broken lives made whole - this is a very special film, courtesy of the Kathmandu International Mountain Film Festival. A Man Called Nomad The beautifully understated film profiles life on the Tibetan Plateau, lovely and unvarnished. It is a story of a man trying to adjust to the shifting realities of the modern world, and how he can retain within his family a sense of place as fences now begin to cross the once open plain, plains that for generations provided ample grazing for his people's yak herds. Looking into the life of 30 year old Choegatar, father and provider, we are invited into a world where the temptations of the town intrude, synthetic fiber is replacing wool, and a man needs capital. This is a lovely and honest portrayal of life changing, but all in a backdrop of unrivaled personal and natural beauty. The Other Final On the same Sunday that Germany squared off with Brazil in the F.I.F.A international soccer World Cup competition, the Bhutanese (whose national sport is archery and where most people have never seen the sea) squared off against the Montserratians (where the national sport is cricket and most people have never seen snow) to play the "other final." Please visit www.mountainfilm.org for a further description of festival activities. |
| Puru Subedi | Posted
on 22-May-03 11:39 AM
Just received this from Nepalhorizons.com mailing list. -PS == Nepal and Tibet come to the Telluride Mountain Film Festival May 23-26, 2003 This year, the Telluride Mountain Film Festival, held high in Colorado's San Juan Mountains, is featuring Nepal as a festival sub-theme, with an emphasis on Tibet, as well. A number of unusual and engaging films shot in the Himalaya will be shown, and an unusual collection of Himalayan experts are gathering for the day-long Moving Mountains Symposium, this year titled, Nepal -- Birthplace of Buddha, Cauldron of Conflict. The symposium will be held on Friday, May 23, the first day of the festival, which carries on through May 26, Memorial Day. The Moving Mountains Symposium, Friday, May 23: Beginning with film clips taken by Toni Hagen in Nepal's Eden-like 1950s, plus some excerpts from The Killing Terraces, symposium panelists from Nepal, Tibet and the U.S. will outline the historical forces that have contributed to the evolution of Nepal as a democratic state. They will explore what's required to turn the tentative cease-fire into lasting peace, and examine the role that development aid and the media have played in shaping Nepal's and the region's future. Panelists this year include Nepal's Ambassador to India, Bhekh Bahadur Thapa, The U.S. Ambassador to Nepal, Michael Malinowski, Getty Conservation Award winner Dr. Hemanta Raj Mishra, Navin Rai of the World Bank, development expert Andrew Manzardo, Sociologist Dr. Anup Pahari, Tibet authority and author Jamyang Norbu, journalist Barbara Adams, anthropologist Carole McGranahan, writer and entrepreneur Carroll Dunham and author Broughton Coburn (Chair) -- plus some surprise guests. |