Description

BRINGING TIBET HOME is the poignant debut feature documentary by Tibetan filmmaker Tenzin Tsetan Choklay. In it, New York-based artist and poet Tenzing Rigdol navigates the international borders between China, Nepal and India to smuggle 20 tons of Tibetan soil to use in an installation piece in Dharamshala, India, where the largest community of Tibetans in exile currently reside. Rigdol, inspired by his father’s dying wish to set foot in Tibet one last time, decided that if Tibetan refugees cannot return home, why not bring Tibet to them.

Filmmaker Choklay and artist Rigdol were once classmates in Dharamshala and, like many others of their generation, had never set foot in Tibet. But, for all Tibetans whether born in Tibet or exile, the pull of the motherland runs deep. Rigdol’s journey to transport soil from Shigatse province is peppered with obstacles, hidden dangers and much frustration — mirroring the lives of Tibetans everywhere. Infused with Rigdol’s dreamy longing for his homeland, Choklay has crafted an insightful and extremely touching film about the Tibetan psyche today.

Credits

Producer: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, Tenzing Rigdol
Cinematographer: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay
Editor: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, Bernadine Colish, Milica Zec
Music: Tenzing Choegyal, Joel Diamond
Cast: Dalai Lama, Neljor, Tenzing Rigdol, Tenzing Topten

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