PRESS RELEASE
'The Sun Behind the Clouds' to be screened in Mumbai
(2009, India/UK, 79 minutes)
Delhi-based filmmakers, Ritu Sarin and her Tibetan partner Tenzing Sonam, announce the Mumbai and Delhi premieres of their film, The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet’s Struggle for Freedom. The film will screen in Mumbai on 7th February 2010 as part of the international competition section of the Mumbai International Film Festival and in New Delhi on 12th February 2010 at the India International Centre in an event hosted jointly by the IIC and The Foundation for Universal Responsibility.
In The Sun Behind the Clouds, Sarin and Sonam take a uniquely Tibetan perspective on the trials and tribulations of the Dalai Lama and his people as they continue their struggle for freedom in the face of determined suppression by one of the world’s biggest and most powerful nations. The filmmakers had intimate access to the Dalai Lama and followed him over the course of an eventful year, which included the 2008 protests in Tibet, the international response to it, the Beijing Olympics, and the breakdown in talks between the Dalai Lama and the Chinese government. Set against this backdrop, the film explores the interplay between the personal and the historic, spirituality and politics, and the tension between the Dalai Lama's efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the Tibet situation based on compromise and
dialogue, and the impatience of a younger generation of Tibetans who are ready to take a more confrontational course.
The film had its North American premiere at the recently concluded Palm Springs International Film Festival in California where it became the focus of much media attention when the Chinese government tried to get the festival to remove the film, ostensibly for its anti-China stand. When the festival refused, two Chinese films were withdrawn in retaliation. The film had three sold-out screenings and a fourth was added when it was voted one of the Best of the Fest films.
Variety, the leading US film trade journal, said of the film: “In a welcome departure from many previous films about the decades-long friction between Tibet and China, "The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom" provides a two-sided view of the complex political and social dynamics within and outside Tibet. For the "struggle" in the film's title is not merely against China but also
between competing Tibetan views regarding the best strategy: co-existence or independence.”
The Hollywood Reporter added: “The film is essential viewing for anyone who cares about the fate of the mountain region and the legacy of the Dalai Lama.”
Screening details:
Mumbai: 2:30 pm; Sunday, 7th February 2010, National Centre for the
Performing Arts (http://miffindia.in/)
New Delhi: 6:30 pm; Friday, 12th February 2010, India International Centre
For more information, please contact Ritu Sarin at:
info@whitecranefilms.com, or +91 9818265611
Links to other stories on the film:
http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117941913.html?categoryid=31&cs=1
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/film-reviews/the-sun-behind-the-clouds-film-review-1004059395.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/09/movies/09film.html
http://www.indiewire.com/article/china_snubs_palm_springs_fest_over_tibet_doc/
http://www.moviemaker.com/festivals/article/china_pulls_two_films_from_palm_springs_film_festival_20100108/
http://blogs.indiewire.com/thompsononhollywood/2010/01/06/chinese_pull_two_films_from_palm_springs_fest/#more
http://www.mydesert.com/article/20100112/EVENTS01/1110333/1050/lifestyles01/Despite-odds-controversial-Tibet-tale-told
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i015c08bd6f66cc49d7cf6decb82d9180
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118013522.html?categoryid=2523&cs=1
http://news.pluggd.in/indias-sun-behind-the-clouds-declared-audience-favorite-at-palm-springs-film-festival-221/
http://www.indiewire.com/article/sun_kissed_palm_springs_cranks_out_international_cinema/
THE SUN BEHIND THE CLOUDS:
Tibet's Struggle for Freedom
http://www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com
Please join the Facebook page for our new film:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Sun-Behind-the-Clouds-Tibets-Struggle-for-Freedom/163986862581
WHITE CRANE FILMS
http://www.whitecranefilms.com
