GANGTOK, : The story of armed resistance by
Tibetans, many of whom settled in Darjeeling hills, against the invading
China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) in the late 1950s is set to premiere at
International Film Festival Rotterdam in the Netherlands.
The English-language film ‘Four Rivers
Six Ranges’, directed by Shenpenn Khymsar will be screened at the festival on
February 1.
“We are thrilled to announce that Four
Rivers Six Ranges has been selected to be premiered at the prestigious 54th
International Film Festival Rotterdam on February 1,” Khymsar told the media.
Set on a grand scale, the film is
produced by Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang and features Tenzin Dhondup and Thupten Chukhatsang
as the main actors. The film is also based on the book ‘Flight at the Cuckoo’s
Behest: The Life and Times of a Tibetan Freedom Fighter’ written by Kunga
Samten Dewatshang.
Even though many scenes of the movie
were shot at Mustang near the China border in Nepal, the film has a strong
Darjeeling connection, said Khymsar.
“Producer Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang is a
student of St Augustine’s School in Kalimpong, and so is one of the principal
actors, Thupten Chukhatsang. In fact, the core team is from the Darjeeling
hills,” said Khymsar.
Khymsar also grew up in Kurseong but is
currently based in the US. The Darjeeling-based crew members include editor
Akhilesh Rai, production designer Mercy Simick Azem, art director Neden Yolmo
and assistant director Daniel Rai.
The film on Tibetan nationalism is
inspired by real stories. “Many warriors raised an armed struggle against the
Chinese occupation of Tibet from 1958. Many of the warriors later resettled in
Darjeeling and passed away here,” said Khymsar.
“Even though the Dalai Lama entered
India from Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh in 1959, many Tibetans had been coming
to India through Kalimpong even earlier. Indo-Tibetan trade flourished through
Kalimpong during that time. Gyalo Thondup, one of the Dalai Lama’s brothers who
fled Tibet in 1952 and played a key role in establishing links between the
Tibetan government in exile and the wider world, was largely based in
Kalimpong. Thondup had secured then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru’s assent to
political asylum for the Dalai Lama in 1959.”
The other works of Khymsar include ‘Journey
of a Dream’ (2011), ‘Jigden: The Beginning of the End’ (2017), ‘Khorwa: The
Cycle’ (2018) and ‘Broken Wings’ (2022). Broken Wings, based against the
backdrop of the 1986 Gorkhaland agitation, has not been released as it has run
into legal hurdles over copyright issues.
