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Main floor, Grainger Hall, Room 1175"Daughter of the Light"
Screening and discussion with the filmmaker, Khashem Gyal
Run time: 1 hour and 39 minutes
In 2024, "Daughter of the Light" was released in theaters across in China, becoming the first Tibetan documentary film in Chinese cinema history to receive a nationwide theatrical release. It ranked as one of the most-watched documentary films in China that year, marking a significant milestone for Tibetan filmmaking.
Synopsis:
13-year-old Metok Karpo lives in a Tibetan boarding school for orphans. Her divorced parents are alive, but have left her to be raised by her maternal grandparents. Her mother remarries but the new husband passes away shortly afterwards. Despite all odds, Metok embarks on a journey to find her father in her native grasslands. Discovering his happy life with a new family, she is troubled by complex feelings she can only express through her imaginative drawings. As new waves of dating on smart phones sweeping through the area, traditional life and nomadic family values start to collapse. In Tibet, divorce is becoming a social problem, affecting more and more families. The film documents this adolescent’s quest for father and belonging, spotlighting a young girl living tenaciously in a society of radical transformation.
Khashem Gyal, is an award-winning writer, director, cinematographer, and producer from the Amdo region of Tibet. He is the recipient of the Colors of Asia Award and a nominee for the Adeste Gold Medal, which honors global changemakers under 40 who inspire others to “touch the stars.”
His filmography includes Valley of the Heroes, Daughters’ Courage, Daughter of the Light, A Day in the Life of a Tibetan Pastoralist, Awang Jigmey: Walking Among the Peaks, The Guardians of the Three Rivers, and A Green Trip. His work has earned numerous national and international awards, establishing him as a
leading voice in Tibetan cinema.
Khashem’s debut feature, Daughter of the Light, was the first Tibetan international co-production film and received the Colors of Asia Award from among hundreds of global film pitches. The film went on to win the ATP Grand Prize for Excellence in Japan, the Audience Award at Korea’s EIDF Film Festival, and the One Hundred Flowers Award at China’s Golden Rooster Film Festival. It was also
nominated for the NETPAC Award at the Ulju Mountain Film Festival, Best Film at the China Documentary Film Academy, and both Best Chinese Story and Best First Feature Documentary at GZDOC.
Khashem is also deeply committed to using film as a tool for preserving intangible cultural heritage and promoting environmental awareness. His film Huangnan Unveiled: A Tapestry of Living Heritage was recognized as one of the top 20 heritage short films in China that year.
This event is co-hosted by the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for East Asian Studies and the Center for South Asia, working in partnership with the Wisconsin Tibetan Association and the Wisconsin Tibetan Language & Culture School.
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Event Venue
Grainger Hall, Madison, WI 53706, United States
Tickets
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