State of Statelessness examines Tibetan exile through four short films

State of Statelessness is a quartet of short films by Tibetan directors who live outside Tibet, exploring the wrench of exile and intimate family dramas. Images of the 90-year-old Dalai Lama appear on shrines in two of the films, underscoring the precariousness of Tibetan identity.

The films focus on separation and migration through small domestic moments. As a character in one of the films puts it bluntly, will there be anything to stop China erasing Tibetan identity when its rock-star spiritual leader is no longer around?

The first short follows a Tibetan man living in Vietnam with his wife and sunny-natured daughter; he has mournful eyes and is haunted by home on the banks of the Mekong, whose source is in Tibet. The river is a constant reminder of the region and of Chinese hydropower dams, which the film links to drought downstream in Vietnam.

Two of the films show Tibetans returning to the refugee community in Dharamshala for funerals. The most sorrowful short follows a Tibetan artist in Dharamshala whose marriage has been splintered by tragedy; he limps and invites an old school friend from New York to dinner, but the visit ends badly, concluding with the artist crying out of frame and his wife looking down unpityingly. The project maintains a deep, desperately sad mood. State of Statelessness is in UK cinemas from 16 January.

Key Topics

Culture, Dalai Lama, Dharamshala, Mekong River, Tibet, Chinese Hydropower