FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Thursday, April 03, 2003
International Tibet Awareness Week activities at the UW Madison
Contact: Chris Hall
UW Madison Students for a Free TibetPh: 608.243.1228
Email: smilechris@yahoo.com

The Madison chapter of the international organization Students for a Free Tibet will host a week of activities, April 6 – 14, 2003 to raise awareness about Tibet. Events will include a film festival, a radio show, a benefit concert, and an evening of traditional Tibetan food and dancing. Many of the events are free, and all are open to the public.

The Tibet Film Festival begins Sunday, April 6th, and features an excellent selection of the Tibet-related cinema that has been produced in recent years. The five films to be shown include documentaries and cultural pieces, lighthearted works as well as serious political commentaries, and a cinematic biography of the Dalai Lama. All films will be shown on the UW Madison campus, and all are free and open to the public (see complete details below).

A Tibetan Cultural Night will be held on Friday, April 11th at the First Unitarian Society, 900 Univ. Bay Dr. This event will feature Tibetan food cooked by members of Madison’s Tibetan community and dancing by the local Tibetan youth dance troupe. There is an admission charge to cover the cost of the event and to raise funds for action supporting the Tibetan cause. Other events include a public access hour radio show on WORT 89.9 FM on Monday, April 14 at 7 PM, and a benefit concert by local rock bands on Saturday, April 12th.

Students for a Free Tibet is a grassroots organization with over 650 chapters worldwide. Members work to increase awareness about the Tibetan situation and to promote action to save Tibet’s unique culture. Tibet has been under Chinese military occupation since 1959, and has received widespread attention to its’ plight in recent years. The efforts of Tibet’s exiled leader and Nobel Peace Laureate the Dalai Lama and international human rights and Tibet support organizations have focused on the severe political repression, environmental destruction and human rights abuses occurring there.

SCHEDULE OF EVENTS - TIBET WEEK AT UW-MADISON APRIL 6 - 12

Tibet Film Festival
Sun. April 6     Himalaya     1641 Humanities Building
Mon. April 7     The Cup     2650 Humanities Building
Tues. April 8     Saltmen of Tibet     494 Van Hise Hall
Wed. April 9     Kundun     2650 Humanities Building
Thurs. April 10     Windhorse     180 Science Hall
All Films begin at 7:00 PM. All Films are FREE. See Movie Descriptions Below.

Tibetan Cultural Night - Traditional Dinner and Dancing
Fri. April 11 at 7:00 PM
First Unitarian Society
900 University Bay Drive
$10 Admission supports action to FREE TIBET.

Save Tibet Benefit Show (hard-core and punk rock)
Sat. April 12 at 7pm
Cloud City
518 W. Washington
Cost: $5
Bands:
    Begin the End
    Horror Vacua
    Disinformation Machine
    Bitter Pill
    Odds Are

Tibet Awareness Radio Show
Public-access radio hour on WORT 89.9 FM
Monday, April 14 from 7-8 PM.

Student activists will discuss the situation in Tibet and in the Madison exile community with a variety of in-studio and call-in guests. Tibetan youth from Madison will talk about their experiences and perspectives, and representatives from the International Campaign for Tibet and the Students for a Free Tibet national office will discuss the history and current situation of Tibet, the world-wide Tibet support movement, and the relevance of Tibet in light of the current world situation.

Please tune in to learn more about Tibet and it's importance in the growing movement to create peace and justice here on planet earth.

Featured Films

Himalaya

In the village of Dolpo, high in the Himalaya, a proud old chieftain, Tinle, has just lost his eldest son. Tinle accuses Karma, the leader of the young Dolpopas, for the death of his son and refuses to grant permission to Karma to lead the annual yak caravan, which travels across the mountains to exchange salt for grain. Karma decides to challenge Tinle by leading the young villagers and their yaks before the date set by ancient ritual. Determined to keep his leadership, Tinle leads the rest of the caravan on the ritual date. Accompanying Tinle is his second son, Norbou, his grandson and the future Dolpo chieftain, Passang, and the other elders of the village. The journey becomes an ancestral duel and a struggle ensues between man and nature in the heights of the Himalayas.

http://www.kino.com/himalaya/

The Cup

Wryly funny, warm-hearted look at what happens when World Cup fever strikes a Tibetan Buddhist monastery-in-exile. First film ever from Bhutan is an accessible, fascinating, delightful glimpse at a cloistered and often misunderstood community.

http://www.as.ua.edu/rel/cuphandout.pdf

Saltmen of Tibet

Shot under extreme conditions in one of the world's most remote locations, "The Saltmen of Tibet" is a work of sublime beauty and epic proportion. Documenting the ancient traditions and day-to-day rituals of a Tibetan nomadic community, the film transports us into a realm of endless mystery untainted by the tides of foreign invasion or encroaching modernity. Step by step we follow the three-month pilgrimage to the holy salt lakes of the Changtang region. Observing age-old taboos and steadfast homage to the deities of nature, four men meticulously plan their yak caravan to fetch "the tears of Tara," the precious salt from the holy lakes of northern Tibet. It is said that the salt lakes are the underground's eyes on the universe and only by maintaining goodwill with their powerful goddess may one be guaranteed a bountiful supply of salt. Journeying to the rooftop of the world, the film overwhelms us with its evocation of the saltmen's herculean endurance and spirit. The result is a breathtaking collage of image and sound, a majestic tribute to the purity of a landscape, people, and tradition facing extinction.

- from the 1998 Sundance Film Festival catalogue

http://www.zeitgeistfilms.com/current/saltmen/saltmen.html

Kundun

The Tibetans refer to the Dalai Lama as 'Kundun', which means 'The Presence'. He was forced to escape from his native home, Tibet, when communist China invaded and enforced an oppressive regime upon the peaceful nation of Tibet. The Dalai Lama escaped to India in 1959 and has been living in exile in Dharamsala ever since.

http://film.tierranet.com/films/kundun/

Windhorse

In 1979 in a small Tibetan village, three children — Dolkar, her brother Dorjee, and their cousin Pema — are shocked when their praying grandfather is assassinated by Chinese police. Unbeknownst to them he passes on his spiritual legacy to the three. Eighteen years later in Lhasa, Dolkar is a popular singer at a disco. Her ambitious Chinese boyfriend lands her a recording contract singing songs praising Chairman Mao. Her shiftless brother Dorjee can't stand the Chinese control of the city but is unwilling to join the underground resistance movement. While showing Amy, an American tourist, around the city, he learns of a Buddhist nun who has been imprisoned for speaking out against the Chinese in the marketplace. Both Dolkar and Dorjee are stunned to discover that the courageous woman is none other than their cousin Pema. After severely torturing her, the Chinese release her into their care.

http://www.tibet.ca/wtnarchive/1999/7/30-2_3.html