By Marke Andrews
The documentary Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion, which opens the eighth Amnesty International Film Festival tonight at Pacific Cinémathèque, contains extraordinary footage, both archival and that exclusively shot by director Tom Peosay.
It has archival footage of the 1950 Chinese invasion of the country, the doomed 1959 revolt by Tibetan nationals, the riot by — and slaughter of — Tibetan protesters in 1987. It shows Buddhist monks being beaten in the streets by Chinese soldiers, and records the self-immolation of a prominent monk.
The footage shot by Peosay, an American who made nine trips to Tibet over a 10-year period, records colourful Tibetan festivals and games, rural life and the changing face of the region’s capital, Lhasa. Now under Chinese rule, the former holy place has a red-light district frequented by Chinese soldiers and has impoverished children foraging in garbage dumps for food.
The film covers the history of Tibet from ancient times to the Chinese invasion, and tells of the repression Tibetans have endured under Chinese rule. The most powerful subjects are those who survived imprisonment and torture to tell the world. Palden Gyatso, imprisoned for 33 years, brandishes the instruments of torture the Chinese used on him, which he smuggled from the country, while Adhe Tapontsang shows a quilt she made from scraps of clothing worn by fellow prisoners who perished in detention; of the 100 women incarcerated, only she and three others survived.
The 104-minute documentary, which screens Thursday night at 7 p.m., will be followed by Suspino: A Cry for Rome (9:25 p.m.), Vancouver film-maker Gillian Darling Kovanic’s documentary on the persecution of Roma (gypsies) in European countries. Darling Kovanic will attend the screening.
In its four-day run (Thursday through Sunday), the festival will show 23 feature-length films and shorts pertaining to human rights issues. Among the films are S21, The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine, Rithy Panh’s haunting documentary on the Cambodian genocide in which former inmates and guards meet at a death-camp site (Saturday, 1 p.m.); Kainayssini Imanistaisiwa: The People Go On, Vancouver film-maker Loretta Todd’s look at an ancient and proud people (Friday, 7 p.m.); and Child Soldiers, an Australian film about children kidnapped and forced to kill in armed conflicts around the globe (Sunday, 6:10 p.m.).
For film and ticket information, visit the festival Web site www.amnesty.bc.ca/filmfest.html), or pick up a Pacific Cinémathèque schedule.
