We started today off with watching a film called Old Dog by Tibetan director Pema Tsedan. The film portrayed daily Tibetan life by showcasing one family's struggles with it's old sheep herding mastiff and a husband and wife's struggle to overcome fertility issues. It was a documentary-esque narrative film that was a bit slow at times but a great look at Tibetan life.
After lunch director Pema came in and spoke to us about Tibet, Tibetan film, and the film industry in general. His discussion and answers to our questions were incredibly interesting. I have never closely studied Tibet before, of course I know the general history and present day situation, but his insights were nothing short of fascinating. He described the struggle that minority film has in China with the censorship bureau, saying that the censorship screening alone for Old Dog took six months. Can you imagine? Six months in talks solely about what the government does and doesn't want in your film. He also discussed the difference between films about Tibet and Tibetan films, as well as his own experiences receiving his MA at the BFA and working with an all-Tibetan film crew.
(As a side note, I've heard that the firewall here will censor certain words that it doesn't like, which may include some sensitive things about Tibet. So we'll see if this entire post gets through.)
Right now Di and Tara are getting ready to go to Be Hai, which is (apparently) a very famous Chinese vegetarian restaurant. Then we're going to go to some bars around the area. Yomi has been trying to plan a trip to the Great Wall tomorrow, but that is all very dependent on the weather. We will not be going if it is raining or thundering because that can be potentially dangerous. We will go at some point in the trip but whether or not we go tomorrow is debatable. I'll keep you all updated, readers (which is probably just my Mom and Dad).
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