DREAMING LHASA
by Ritu Sarin et Sonam Tenzing, Fiction, 90', 2005, 35mm, INDIA/GB
With Jampa Kalsang, Tenzin Chokyi Gyatso, Tenzin Jime, Lobsang Choedon, Sonam Phuntsok, Lobsang Choedon

Karma, a Tibetan filmaker from New York, goes to Dharamsala, the Dalaï-Lama’s exile headquarters, in northern India, to make a documentary about former political prisoners who have escaped from Tibet. One of Karma’s interviewees is Dhondup, an enigmatic ex-monk who has just escaped from Tibet. He confides in her that his real reason for coming to India is to fulfill his dying mother’s last wish, to deliver a charm box to a long-missing resistance fighter. Karma finds herself unwittingly falling in love with Dhondup even as she is sucked into the passion of his quest.

RITU SARIN & SONAM TENZING
Ritu Sarin was born in New Delhi (India). She studies in London and completed her undergraduate studies at Delhi University, then did an MFA in film and vidéo at the California College of Arts (Oakland).

Sonam Tenzing was born in Darjeeling (India) to Tibetan refugee parents. After graduating from Delhi University, he worked for a year in the Tibetan Government-in-exile, in Dharamsala.