Name: Himalayan Dreams: Tales of Lhasa Newar Traders -Film Screening & Discussion
Start: 2026-01-29T16:30:00-05:00
End: 2026-01-29T18:00:00-05:00
Location: Weatherhead East Asian Institute (located at the School of International and Public Affairs)

Himalayan Dreams: Tales of Lhasa Newar Traders -Film Screening & Discussion

The film documents an almost-vanished chapter of Tibetan-Himalayan history through the voices of the last surviving generation who lived it.
About this Event

For non-Columbia affiliates, registration is required to access the Morningside campus. After registering you will receive an email with a QR code that must be presented along with a government-issued ID (your name must match exactly the name registered for the event) at either the 116th Street & Broadway or 116th Street & Amsterdam gates for entry. Please register using a unique email address (one email address per registrant) by 4:00pm on Jan. 28 for campus access.

Names will be submitted for QR codes 1-2 days prior to the event. Registrants will receive an email from CU Guest Access with the QR code before or on the day of the event. NOTE: You cannot access campus using the QR code from Eventbrite.

Speaker: Tenzing Jigme -- Film Director; and President, Ottawa Tibetan Community Association

Moderator: Lauran Hartley, Associate Research Scholar and Director, Modern Tibetan Studies Program, WEAI; and Adjunct Assistant Professor, EALAC, Columbia University

Himalayan Dreams: Tales of Lhasa Newar Traders is a 40-minute documentary directed by Tenzing Jigme and Loonibha Tuladhar. The film documents an almost-vanished chapter of Tibetan-Himalayan history through the voices of the last surviving generation who lived it. For over a millennium, Newar merchants traveled 20 days across the Himalayas to Lhasa, where they built trading networks, married local Tibetan residents, and raised children who embodied a unique transnational identity.

Speaker's Bio: Tenzing Jigme is a first-time film maker based in Ottawa, Canada. He was inspired to make the film to capture his late father's wish to preserve and relay the historic linkage between Nepal and Tibet and the lives of people straddled across borders, society, and politics. Tenzing completed his Masters in Public and International Affairs from York University, Toronto Canada. He is the current President of the Ottawa Tibetan Community Association and works in the public sector.

This event is hosted by the Weatherhead East Asian Institute and co-sponsored by the Modern Tibetan Studies Program.