Asia Society, Columbia University-Modern Tibetan Studies, Trace Foundation, Maysles Institute, and Kham Film Project present: Soul-Searching in Tibet: Films by Pema Tseden (Wanma Caidan) April 10 & 15, 2010 **Filmmaker Pema Tseden Q&A on April 10th** Screenings at Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Avenue at 70th Street, NYC The Search (dir. Pema Tseden) Asia Society, Columbia University-Modern Tibetan Studies, Trace Foundation, Maysles Institute, and Kham Film Project presen

Tibet In Harlem 2 From the Maysles Institute website: TIBET IN HARLEM 2: ORIGINS March 14–20, 2010 Presented by the Modern Tibetan Studies Program at Columbia University, Maysles Cinema, Machik and the Kham Film Project. Series Programmers: Robert Barnett, Lynn True, Nelson Walker. “A remarkable renaissance has been quietly taking place within Tibet, almost completely unknown to the outside world: a group of largely self-taught Tibetan intellectuals and artists have suddenl

In the past, with another film of ours that we showed at the Toronto Film Festival, the Chinese consulate did call up the director of the Toronto Film Festival and said, “Would you please remove the film?” They said, “No” and that was the end of it. So we didn’t really expect them to come all the way from Los Angeles and pull out the films. We were really shocked. In the current climate, it seems that the Chinese are flexing their muscles more than they have done because they

City of Life and Death (dir. Lu Chuan) The New York Times reports that the Film Forum, one of the leading specialty theaters in New York City, has removed City of Life and Death, a movie about the 1937 Nanjing Massacre directed by Lu Chuan from their spring calendar. According to the article, National Geographic Entertainment, the North American distributor of the film, could not guarantee that a print of the film would be available in time for its scheduled release. Film Fo

Filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam (photo courtesy of Friends of Tibet.org) Chinese authorities have withdrawn two films from the Palm Springs International Film Festival (Jan. 5-18) in protest of the scheduled screening of a documentary about Tibet and the Dalai Lama. The more prominent of two films, City of Life and Death (also known as Nanjing! Nanjing!), written and directed by Lu Chuan, is a critically acclaimed fictionalized account of atrocities committed by the J

Dhondup Wangchen (Photo courtesy of the New York Times) According to a report on New York Times from Chongqing, China, a self-taught filmmaker who spent five months interviewing Tibetans about their hopes and frustrations living under Chinese rule is facing charges of state subversion after the footage was smuggled abroad and distributed on the Internet and at film festivals around the world. Dhondup Wangchen, 35, has been detained since March 2008, just weeks after deadly ri

dGenerate Films has partnered with Asia Society to give away 5 free tickets to the China Green Multimedia Festival: The Third Pole on October 13, 2009, which features 4 short films and a post-screening discussion with the filmmakers! The films and discussion will focus on the Tibetan Plateau, where the mighty glaciers are melting, drastically altering the lifestyle and livelihood of the local population. The Tibetan Plateau feeds the Yellow, Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Brahmap

In Joanne Lee-Young’s article for the Vancouver Sun, longtime Asian film programmer and critic Tony Rayns spotlights some of his favorite films in this year’s Vancouver International Film Festival Dragons & Tigers Program of Asian cinema. Our own blog contributor Shelly Kraicer programmed the Chinese titles in the series, some of which are mentioned below: Rayns: “In the last 10 years or so… nearly all of the creative energy in [mainland] Chinese cinema has come from the inde