Another Country
If my first job of the 10s is any indication, it’s going to be a neat decade. Holly Carter is the founder of BYkids, an organization that puts cameras in the hands of kids around the world, letting them tell their personal stories under the guidance of professional filmmakers. BYkids combines my 2 favorite pastimes – travel and storytelling – with the kind of raw, genuine filmmaking you only find in a demographic that hasn’t yet developed an ego.
In January, Holly asked me to take their latest work and edit it down for consideration in short film festivals. The film, My Country is Tibet, is by Namgyal Wangchuk Trichen Lhagyari, the 17-year-old king of this embattled nation. It’s the story of his life in exile in India, and the footsteps he must fill in a land he doesn’t belong to. I had to take Trichen’s film and cut it nearly in half, rearranging nearly every scene in order to preserve his voice and his story. It’s not every day I get to edit a king.
Knowing the “story” of Tibet is very different from seeing and hearing this young man tell that story. What a captivating approach. I’d like to see the full-length version. The images seemed to capture the steadiness and peace of Buddhism and simultaneously show the alienation of a people struggling to preserve their culture and themselves. Very thought provoking. I want to know more.
hi tracy…really enjoyed this film. thanks for sharing it.
As a sponsor of His Holiness Programs in helping His people and in the cause
of ‘Freeing Tibet’ from the Communist Chinese rule, I am grateful to have viewed
this particular film. May Tibet be Free & Blessed!
Arakawa Tenshin, Shifu
(Sr. Monk)
Tenshin Ryushin-Ji Buddhist Temple
USA
Strong personal narrative of struggles in exile. His own history attest to existence of Tibet and its independent kingdom. Lhagyari- a mature, young Tibetan with strong conviction, equally carries the burden of Tibetan struggle. His identity withstood and flourish in conflicts. He is renowned in Tibetan community and is recognized by His Holiness as a descendant of King Songtsengampo. Songtsengompo single handedly changed the politics and religion of Tibet. He has been credited for renaissance of Tibetan culture. Lhagyari will carry forth the tradition and he is a promising young man . Lhagiri is a king without land and identity without a throne.
FREE TIBET
LONG LIVE HIS HOLINESS THE DALAI LAMA