3rd Annual Toronto Tibetan Film Festival

The 3rd annual Toronto Tibetan Film Festival starts Friday, April 9th, 2010 and looks to be a stellar event. Put on by Students for a Free Tibet Canada and the Canada Tibet Committee, this year’s line up is kicked off with a free public screening of “Leaving Fear Behind” - a movie shot by Tibetans from inside Tibet and smuggled out before the filmmakers were captured and imprisoned. Dhondup Wangchen, one of the filmmakers was recently handed a 6 year prison sentence for his participation.

The guest speaker for this evening will be Jamyang Norbu, a leading Tibetan activist and writer.

Friday night also features the film “A Song for Tibet” (which I’ve yet to see) and “Unmistaken Child” which I absolutely loved.

Saturday features the 2 part series “Women of Tibet: A Quiet Revolution/ The Great Mother” which looks like remarkable films. Here’s the trailer for you to check out:

Also presented on Saturday night is “Fire Under the Snow” documenting the story of Palden Gyatso who was imprisoned for 33 years for the crimes of peaceful demonstration.

The last film of the festival is “The Sun Behind the Clouds” which touches upon the most recent uprisings in Tibet back in March 2008 and examines personal stories related to views towards the strategy of non-violence that the Dalai Lama has traditionally held in working with the Chinese government.

There will also be a free public talk by Jamyang Norbul titled “Independent Tibet! The Facts” on Saturday, April 1oth. For more details on this event, please visit the Students for a Free Tibet- Canada website.

Looks like a phenomenal event and I only wish I could jet off to Toronto for the weekend. Here’s hoping I can attend next year.