Club Evening Event: Tibetan Film Screening:“Tharlo” Followed by A Conversation with the Film Director

“Tharlo” is a story of a Tibetan shepherd living in isolation in the Tibetan mountains. One day he goes into town and finds himself out of depth amidst the sounds, images and dynamics of urbanity around him. This movie, Pema Tseden’s sixth feature film, is currently going around international film festivals.Tseden is the first director in China who has made films entirely in a “minority language” and has earned international acclaim as a cinematic auteur. His works are considered by scholars and critics to have eschewed both the stereotypical imaginations of the Tibetans, and the clichéd conception of tradition versus modernity in contemporary Tibetan lives. He will briefly share his experience of working on independent cinema with Tibetan themes under the production conditions of China, including the advantages and challenges.

The director was born in Amdo Tibet. He was the first Tibetan graduate of the Beijing Film Academy and has produced six feature films which have established his reputation as a cinematic auteur in the international film circuit. He is considered a pioneer of not only Tibetan cinema, but also minority cinemas in China. His films often explore issues of identity, modernity, and the issue of compassion.

The film, 123 minutes in length, is in Tibetan with English subtitles.