Inside China: The Battle for Tibet

Free Tibet

A film about the Tibetan Freedom Concert in San Francisco in 1996.

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The documentary film "There is no turning back" by Stéphane Kleeb tells the story of the Tibetan siblings Losang and Dechen Barshee, who came to Switzerland as refugee children in 1964. After a difficult childhood in various foster families, they return to Tibet with their mother 40 years later. This journey confronts them with the alienation from their mother and their changed homeland. The film addresses homelessness, uprooting and lost dreams.

Orphans of Tibet

Each year, groups of Tibetan children secretly flee their homeland over the Himalayas to reach schools in India founded by the government in exile. Entrusted to smugglers, they are risking their lives by illegally crossing the great Himalayan range, a towering rampart between Tibet and India. The director will take us in the Mussorie school, in North India, where two thousand four hundred children have been rescued. They have left behind their family childhood and are now considered as orphans. We will discover the itineraries of Sonam, aged nine, and Dholma, the little new girl of the school. Here in India, they are taught about Tibetan culture and will find out about the history of their country and their ancestors. Sonam and Dholma's story is that of thousands of Tibetan children. Are they orphans of a lost country or bearers of hope who will save an endangered culture?

Brilliant Moon: Glimpses of Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche

Brilliant Moon chronicles the life of the writer, poet, and meditation master Khyentse Rinpoche, one of Tibet's most revered 20th-century Buddhist teachers. Spiritual guide to His Holiness the Dalai Lama and the Royal Family of Bhutan, his life and teachings were an inspiration to all who encountered him. Richard Gere and Lou Reed provide the narration for his dangerous journey out of China, the subsequent spread of his influence and the search for his reincarnation after his death.

Becoming Who I Was

Angdu is no ordinary boy. Indeed, in a past life he was a venerated Buddhist master. His village already treats him like a saint as a result. The village doctor, who has taken the boy under his wing, prepares him to be able to pass on his wisdom. Alas, Tibet, Angdu’s former homeland and the centre of his faith, lies far away from his current home in the highlands of Northern India. On top of that, the conflict between China and Tibet makes the prospect of a trip there even more daunting. Undeterred by these harsh facts, the duo set off for their destination on foot, accompanied by questions of friendship and the nature of life. With its narrative approach steeped in a serene sense of concentration, this documentary film, composed over a period of eight years, stands as a fundamental experience in its own right.

Blindsight

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.

Tibet: The Survival of the Spirit

Tibet - Les nourritures terrestres

Procession at Gangtok

Traditional games, dancing and music among the people of Sikkim - in vivid colour.

Alexandra David-Néel : Du Sikkim au Tibet Interdit

The Light of the Golden Sun

More than 50 years ago, the Tibetan Bon Buddhist tradition was driven from its refuge deep within the Himalayas. This is the story of the long and difficult journey that followed. Told through the lens of one Bon teacher born in exile -- Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche -- this film reveals something very precious and very old: a rich spiritual heritage, hidden for millennia, whose secret teachings are only now becoming known to the world. There may be no unbroken spiritual tradition more ancient than Bon, which traces its beginnings to a buddha who predates Shakyamuni by thousands of years. Yet this tradition today may be facing its greatest challenge thus far: to preserve its rich heritage beyond the land of its birth.

Women 50 Minutes

A representation of queer and feminist imagery that was mainly shot in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau, remote and developing areas in southwest China, and metropolitan cities like Beijing from 2000 to 2004 to document the social changes in contemporary China. The director sympathetically and erotically represents a variety of women, including women as laborers, women as prayers, women in the ground, women in marriage, and women who lie on the funeral pyre with their dead husbands. Her camera juxtaposes the mountains and rivers in old times, the commercialized handicrafts as exposition, the capital exploitation of the elders’ living space, and the erotic freedom of the young people in a changing city.

Crazy Wisdom: The Life and Times of Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche

CRAZY WISDOM explores the arrival of Tibetan Buddhism in America through the story of Chögyam Trungpa, who landed in the U.S. in 1970. Trungpa became renowned for translating ancient Buddhist concepts into language and ideas that Westerners could understand and shattered preconceived notions about how an enlightened teacher should behave. Initially rejected, his teachings are now recognized by western philosophers and spiritual leaders as authentic and profound.

Tibet: Roof of the World

Join us as we explore life on the highest mountain plateau on Earth. This beautiful and other worldly place is also one of the harshest on the planet. We follow the lives of some of the iconic creatures that call it home. From Tibetan wolves struggling to raise pups in the rugged peaks, and rare snub nosed monkeys facing family dramas on the forest slopes to chiru antelopes that travel hundreds of miles to give birth while facing death, and hardy pika who tough out the elements all year, whilst under constant attack. Discover how these extraordinary animals manage to not only survive, but also thrive on the roof of the world.

The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life

Narrated by Leonard Cohen, this two-part series explores ancient teachings on death and dying and boldly visualises the afterlife according to Tibetan philosophy. Tibetan Buddhists believe that after a person dies, they enter a state of "bardo" for 49 days until a rebirth. Program 1, The Tibetan Book of the Dead: A Way of Life documents the history of The Tibetan Book of the Dead, tracing the book's acceptance and use in Europe and North America. Program 2, The Tibetan Book of the Dead: The Great Liberation observes an old Buddhist lama and a 13-year-old novice monk as they guide a deceased person into the afterlife.

Angry Monk - Reflections on Tibet

Schaedler's film tells the fascinating story of Tibetan monk Gendun Choephel whose robes ultimately proved to be too constricting for his imagination and intellect. Born in 1903, Choephel left an indelible mark on Tibetan culture and became an icon for young Tibetans today. Because of his political views he was persecuted by the Tibetan government and died a broken man in 1951. The film follows in the footsteps of the rebel monk whose intellect challenged the ancient traditions of old Tibet. Journeying through Tibet and India, “Angry Monk” provides a vivid picture of Tibet that is in refreshing contrast to its often idealized and esoteric image.

My Reincarnation

Filmed over twenty years, Tibetan Buddhist Master Choogyal Namkhai Norbu watches as his western-born son, Yeshi, who was recognized at birth as the reincarnation of a famous spiritual master, considers departing from tradition to embrace the modern world.

Blessings: The Tsoknyi Nangchen Nuns of Tibet

In Tibet, the word for woman translates as "lower rebirth." In a remote eastern region of the country, the Tsoknyi Nangchen nuns defy this definition. Devoted to the ancient practices of Tibetan Buddhism - once primarily a male domain - over 3,000 nuns have attained elevated status. Director Victress Hitchcock honors them in this moving documentary, which follows the journey of a small group of Western women to remote mountain hermitages to meet these nuns.

The Knowledge of Healing

A documentary film about Tibetan traditional medicine.

Lord of the Dance/Destroyer of Illusion

The documentary focuses on the annual Mani Rimdu festival of Tibet and Nepal, an event which encapsulates the Himalayan Buddhist experience.