TIBET SOURCES: VIDEOGRAPHY
Videography
Videos
may be available to rent through your local video store.
Ancient Futures: Learning from Ladakh
Based on the work of Helena Norberg-Hodge. The ancient Tibetan
culture of Ladakh, in the Himalayas of Northern India, struggling
between tradition and way of life and modern development.
Themes: Ecology, Environment, Sustainability, Patterns of
Life Documentary. 60 minutes. IntÍl Society for Ecology &
Culture. 1993.
Compassion
In Exile: The Story of The 14th Dalai Lama
An award winning film, by Mickey Lemle, about the life of
The Fourteenth Dalai Lama and overview of the current situation
in Tibet, including many interviews. Themes: Biography, Human
Rights, Cultural Survival, History, Exile Experience, Compassion
Documentary. 60 minutes. Lemle Pictures. 1992.
Dalai
Lama: Soul of Tibet
A historical and contemporary look at the life of The Fourteenth
Dalai Lama. Produced by CBS News for the A&E biography series.
Themes: Biography, History, Tibet-China Relationship Documentary.
50 minutes. A&E Home Video. 1997.
Dreams
of Tibet
Examination of the western imagination and current popular
culture surrounding Tibet compared with reality of the current
Tibetan situation. Produced for PBS Frontline. Hosted by Orville
Schell. Themes: Myth, Media, Foreign Interest in Tibet Documentary.
60 minutes. Frontline/PBS. 1997.
Home to Tibet
A Tibetan exile living in the United States returns to visit
his family in Tibet, then leaves with his niece whom he takes
to a Tibetan refugee community in India for their formal education.
A film by Alan Dater and Lisa Merton. Themes: Exile Experience,
Current Tibetan Situation Documentary. 55 minutes. Marlboro
Productions. 1995.
Inside Tibet
Rare black and white footage of the 1942 trip to Tibet by
United States OSS (former CIA) Officers Brooke Dolan and Ilia
Tolstoy, sent on fact finding mission during WWII by President
Roosevelt. They receive warm Tibetan hospitality and meet
the young Dalai Lama. Themes: Tibet prior to Chinese Occupation,
Traditional Culture and Society of Lhasa Documentary. 39 minutes.
1943.
Kundun
The story of The Fourteenth Dalai Lama from his birth in 1935
to his escape into exile in 1959, during the Chinese occupation
of Tibet. Authentic recreation of life in Tibet starring an
all Tibetan cast. A Martin Scorcese film, written by Melissa
Mathison. Themes: Biography, History, Tibet-China Relationship,
Non-violence, Compassion, Leadership Feature Film. 135 minutes.
Touchtone Pictures. 1998.
Little Buddha
A young boy from Seattle is identified as the incarnation
of a Tibetan Lama, interspersed with flashbacks to scenes
from the life of the historical Buddha in ancient India. A
Bernado Bertalucci Film, shot on location in Seattle, Kathmandu,
and Bhutan. Themes: Tibetan Buddhism & Monastic Culture ,
Historical Buddha, Tibetan Diaspora Feature Film. 123 minutes.
Miramax Films. 1994.
Mandala:
The Sacred Circle of Vajrabhairava
Follows the construction of a Tibetan Buddhist Sand Mandala,
with a detailed introduction of this sacred process and its
meaning. Includes segment of a 3-D computer animated mandala.
Themes: Tibetan Buddhist Culture, Buddhist Philosophy, Tibetan
Religious Art Documentary. 35 minutes. South Mountain Productions.
1997.
Mustang:
The Hidden Kingdom
Journey of a high Tibetan Lama from Dharamsala, India sent
by the Dalai Lama to the Tibetan Kingdom of Mustang, in Nepal
to teach and find two young children to bring back to India
for a formal education. Produced for the Discovery Channel,
narrated by Harrison Ford. Themes: Tibetan Diaspora, Traditional
Tibetan Culture, Tibetan Buddhism, Geography Documentary.
90 minutes. The Discovery Channel. 1994.
Red
Flag
Over Tibet Chronicles the Tibetan situation from Chinese invasion
through 1992 APEC Conference. Visits to Tibet, Dharamsala,
and US. Interviews with political figures connected with Tibetan
issues. Themes: History, Current Tibetan Situation, Human
Rights, Geo-Politics Documentary. 60 minutes. Frontline/PBS.
1993.
Seven
Years in Tibet
The story of Austrian mountain climber Heinrich Harrer who,
after escaping from a WWII British Interment Camp, makes his
way to Lhasa, Tibet and develops a close relationship with
a young Dalai Lama, at the time of the Chinese Communist Revolution
and invasion of Tibet. Authentic recreation of traditional
Tibetan society. Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud. Themes:
History, Traditional Tibet, The Young Dalai lama, Cross-Cultural
Relationship Feature Film. 136 minutes. Mandalay Entertainment.
1997.
(The
Original) Seven Years in Tibet
A 1950's British documentary of Harrer's journey to Tibet
(see above), using original color film of Tibet taken by Harrer
in 1949-50. A mix of dramatic re-creation and actual footage.
Themes: Rare Footage of Tibet prior to the Chinese Occupation
Documentary. 79 minutes. Seven League Production. 1957.
Tashi
Jong: A Traditional Tibetan Community in Exile
An award winning documentary, by Barbara Green, about villagers
from a community in the Kham Province of Tibet who flee their
homeland after the Chinese occupation and resettle as a community
in the foothills of Northern India. The lama who arranges
this resettlement named their village Tashi Jong or Auspicious
Valley, and helped create a self-sustaining Tibetan enclave
in exile The film offers a model for the sustainability of
traditional culture, once insulated from the outside world,
now redefining itself in a modern world. A valuable cross-cultural
source for teaching students about elements and patterns of
culture and the growing trend of vanishing traditional culture.
Grade 5 & up.Themes: Traditional Culture, Exile Experience,
Diaspora, Sustainability, Education, Cultural survival. Documentary.
45 minutes. Tibetan Video Project. 1999.
Tibet:
The End of Time
Examination of Tibetan Civilization and Current Tibetan Situation.
Part of Time Life's "Lost Civilizations" Series.
Narrated by Sam Waterson. Themes: Civilization, Traditional
Culture, Buddhism, History, The Dalai Lama, Exile Experience
Documentary. 48 minutes. Time-Life Video. 1995.
Tibet In Exile
Follows a group of young Tibetan children who have escaped
from Tibet and their introduction and socialization into the
Tibetan exile community of Dharamsala, India. A film by Barbara
Banks and Meg McLagan. Themes: Exile, Migration, Diaspora,
Education, Human Rights, Cultural Survival Documentary. 30
minutes. Tibet in Exile Video Project. 1991.
Some
of these videos may be available to rent or purchase through
your local video store. Some can be purchased through The Global Source Catalog. Others
are available through the Snow Lion Catalog (800) 950-0313.
Many, and more, can be rented from the Office of Tibet (212)
213-5010. An extensive annotated list of Tibet-related videos
can be accessed on-line at:
www.tibet.com
