State of Statelessness: A Heartbreaking Translation of Tibetan Life in Exile
Imagine you live in Vietnam with your daughter. You tell her about the river that runs through your hometown in Tibet. Soon, what was a simple geography lesson becomes something more… it becomes a painful awareness of your longing for a home that is out of reach, and that is in increasing risk of disappearance due to occupation. This is the staer of Tsering Tashi Gyalthang’s Where the River Ends – one of the stories that make up the anthological film State of Statelessness.
Made by the Drung Collective, the film collates four short films made by four different Tibetan directors living in exile. A father giving his daughter a geography lesson, a man sorting through his late father’s personal belongings, a reunion between two sisters at their mother’s cremation ceremony, a disastrous visit by an old friend are the premises for these short films. In themselves these are already emotionally complex situations but in the context of exile unravel indelible evidence of lost cultures, lost identities, and a lost home…
Although these stories mostly take place in extraordinary circumstances, the film uses the moments of daily mundanity – shared meals, and family rituals - to bring its characters closer to home – all while emphasising how faraway home really is. In this way, the strength of State of Statelessness lies not only on the plot of each individual story but also on the heartbreaking translation of life in exile to the silver screen. Being the first ever anthology film in Tibetan language, this poignant film is ever more important as it serves as testament to how occupation and political boarders have been fracturing Tibetan lives whilst also being an act of resistance.
First showcased in Busan Film Festival in 2024, only now is this film starting its international circulation. Having been programmed only in certain cinemas, to be able to watch it again in the big screen, at The Dukes this week will be a great privilege for me, and hopefully for you too.
Written by João Eduardo Lima Belchior
See State of Statelessness from 23, 25 - 28 January.
