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Tibet in Song
The Struggle to Save Tibet’s Musical Soul
Speakers
86 minutes | English & Tibetan with subtitles | 2009 | USA
Tibet in Song follows Ngawang Choepel, a Tibetan exile who risks everything to preserve his homeland’s endangered folk music. Arrested and imprisoned by Chinese authorities for alleged espionage, he served nearly seven years in prison before being released in 2002 as a result of massive international advocacy. Through rare music and personal stories, the film shows how Tibetan identity endures through song, even in the face of Chinese state-imposed “patriotic” pop music.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A session with the audience.
In collaboration with:
Speakers
Ngawang Choephel
Ngawang Choephel, deeply passionate about preserving Tibetan music, discovered his passion early and earned a degree from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts in Dharamsala, India. In 1994, he came to the U.S. as a Fulbright Fellow at Middlebury College, where he studied video production and world music to prepare for Tibet in Song. While filming in Tibet, he was arrested and spent seven years in prison. His resilience earned him the 2002 Courage of Conscience Award. That year, he was also honored with an honorary Doctorate of Arts degree from Middlebury College, as well as ‘Best Act in Exile’ award from Lobsang Wangyal Productions for his work in music. Tibet in Song is his debut documentary.
Sandhya Kumar
Sandhya Kumar is an award-winning filmmaker residing in Bangalore. She holds an MFA in Film from San Francisco Art Institute, and an MA in Mass Communication from Jamia Millia University, New Delhi. Her work has been shown in international art and film platforms and she has received film grants from India Foundation for the Arts (IFA), Public Service Broadcasting Trust (PSBT) and been an ATSA fellow at ARThink South Asia. Sandhya is also a trustee of Vikalp Bengaluru, a filmmakers’ collective committed to widening the documentary audience.
