🎥 🎞️ Screen Southasia October 2026: State of Statelessness

This month, we’ll be screening State of Statelessness by Tenzin Tsetan Choklay, Sonam Tseten, Tsering Tashi Gyalthang, Tenzing Sonam and Ritu Sarin in collaboration with the Tibet Film Festival. The film explores themes of statelessness and migration through four poignant stories of Tibetans living in exile. We’ll also be hosting a conversation with Tenzin Tsetan Choklay on 5 October, so stay tuned for the sign up link to join the conversation!

Length: 106 minutes

Synopsis

State of Statelessness is the first-ever Tibetan-language anthology feature film, comprising four short segments directed by Tibetan filmmakers living in exile in India, the United States of America and Vietnam. Each film captures the poignant realities of Tibetans scattered across the globe. In one story, a Tibetan father in Vietnam shares with his young daughter how the Mekong River, starting in his homeland, flows into the sea in their new country. In another, two sisters come together in a bittersweet reunion to cremate their late mother, only to find that years of separation have woven complex predicaments that they must struggle to untangle. The third film follows Sonam, who is in the midst of recovering from a family tragedy, when a visit by a long-lost school friend from America forces him and his wife to confront the fragility of their lives. In the final tale, a son returns to his deceased father’s home in Dharamshala, where he experiences a glimpse into his past and stumbles upon a secret that challenges his understanding of his heritage and identity.

Director’s bio: Tenzin Tsetan Choklay is a Tibetan-American filmmaker and spends time between New York and Dharamshala. Born to Tibetan refugee parents, Tenzin grew up in Dharamshala in northern India. He studied film directing at the prestigious Korean Academy of Film Arts in Seoul, South Korea. His past films include a number of short films: History of Momos (2007), Elif’s Seoulitude (2007) and Tell Tale (2008). His 2014 film, Bringing Tibet Home, a feature documentary, won numerous international awards and had its theatrical release in more than 40 theatres in South Korea in 2016. Tenzin produced the anthology film State of Statelessness (2024) as part of his role as a co-founder of Drung Films and directed the final segment in the film titled; At the end the rain stops.

Sonam Tseten is a Tibetan filmmaker based in Dharamsala, India. Born in Tibet, Sonam went into exile as a young child and grew up in India among the Tibetan refugee community. Sonam has made several mid-length and feature length films including Tsampa to Pizza, Girl From China and most recently Pawo, co-directed with German filmmaker Marvin Litwak. His films centre stories of separation, reunion and exilic experiences.

Tsering Tashi Gyalthang is a Tibetan filmmaker and actor born in India, educated in the United States, where he studied Fine Arts, and based in Vietnam. He starred as the lead actor, Tenzin, in Khyentse Norbu's acclaimed 2019 Nepalese mystery-drama film Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache, and directed the short film Huong (2016) before co-directing State of Statelessness.

Tenzing Sonam is a Tibetan film director, writer and essayist based in Dharamshala. Sonam was born in Darjeeling to Tibetan refugee parents. He graduated from St Stephen’s College, Delhi University, and then studied broadcast journalism at the University of California, Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. Together with his partner, Ritu Sarin, he founded White Crane Films in 1996.

Ritu Sarin is an Indian film director, producer and artist based in Dharamshala, India. She is the director of the Dharamshala International Film Festival. After graduating from Miranda House, Delhi University, she did her MFA in film and video from the California College of Arts.

This collaboration with the Tibet Film Festival came out of one of our quarterly Patron calls (thank you to Norpell Wilberforce!) If you believe in supporting independent visual storytelling, make sure to sign up to our Patrons programme and support us. And if you wish to pitch your documentary to us, please email editorial@himalmag.com. And stay tuned for more on the film we’ll be screening this month!