IN MEMORY: The Silent Holy Stone

The screening will be followed by a discussion between Khenrab Gyatso, Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam about the work of Pema Tseden.

A 10-year-old Buddhist monk returns home after a long journey from the remote Guwa monastery for the New Year, and sits himself in front of his family's new television. Meanwhile, the villagers rehearse their annual performance of a traditional Tibetan opera for the New Year. With all the immediacy of a documentary, Silent Holy Stone offers an insight into the daily life of a village where tradition stands at odds with modernity and globalization. Director Pema Tseden, a pioneer of Tibetan film who passed away suddenly in May 2023, inspired a new generation to explore filmmaking as a language of identity, and motivated Tibetan filmmakers around the world to master their craft and share their distinctive perspectives. 

Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam have made several award-winning films and video installations. Their work focuses primarily on Tibet and attempts to document and reflect on the questions of exile, identity, culture and nationalism that confront the Tibetan people. They are based in Dharamshala (India) where they also run the Dharamshala International Film Festival, one of India's leading independent film festivals, which they founded in 2012.

Khenrab Gyatso lives in the Netherlands and is striving to be a filmmaker, he studied/studies film in Denmark and Netherlands. He is interested in topics such as the Tibetan life in exile, the meaning of the medium film and how these intertwine with the contemporary world.