TIBET IN SONG

Ngawang Choephel prepares a song with a friend for his moving, personal documentary (photo by David Huang)

TIBET IN SONG (Ngawang Choephel, 2009)
Cinema Village
22 East 12th St. between Fifth Ave. & University Pl.
September 24 – October 1
212-924-3363
www.tibetinsong.com
www.cinemavillage.com

Ngawang Choephel wrote, directed, produced, narrates, and composed the score for the fascinating, intensely personal documentary TIBET IN SONG. Born in western Tibet in 1966, Ngawang set out in 1995 to capture the dying folk music of Tibet, a critical part of the country’s tradition and yet another aspect of their culture being buried by the Chinese takeover that had begun in 1959. Risking his life as well as his family’s — he also wanted to find the father he had not seen in decades — Ngawang, who grew up in a South Indian refugee camp, started to record Tibetan folk music to preserve its heritage, leading to his arrest on espionage charges. But he let nothing stop him, especially when he came upon Tibetans who were using native melodies to sing propaganda lyrics supplied by the Chinese government. But TIBET IN SONG, which has won awards at the Sundance Film Festival, the One World International Human Rights Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival, and others, is more than just one person’s private struggle; it is an important document about human rights, particularly when Ngawang speaks with Tibetan exiles in India who are not afraid to tell the truth.