Student activist group brings 'Visions of Tibet' to Griffith Theater

Perhaps you've heard of the benefit concerts. Perhaps you've seen the flyers . Perhaps you've even happened upon the website (www.tibet.org/sft). Chances are, you've stumbled across the Free Tibet movement at some point. It's big in New York, it's big in L.A, and here in Durham, the Duke chapter of international human rights group Students for a Free Tibet (SFT) is working hard.

This month, SFT hopes to raise student awareness of the Tibetan struggle by presenting a short film series, "Visions of Tibet," through Duke University Union's Freewater Films.

The series premieres with Brad Pitt's well-known Seven Years in Tibet, the personal adventure of an Austrian who flees the complications of World War II to climb in the Himalayas. When he and a climbing partner stumble upon the holy city of Lhasa in Tibet, he becomes close friends with the Dalai Lama.

Following this big-name film is Kundun, Martin Scorsese's biographical depiction of the life of the Dalai Lama. The story begins in1937, when at the age of two, the Dalai Lama is declared the reincarnation of Buddha; continues through his adolescence during the Chinese invasion of Tibet, and concludes with his flight to India as an adult.

The Reincarnation of Khensur Rinpoche, the third film in the series, details a Buddhist disciple's search for and discovery of the child said to be the reincarnation of his own master, a respected monk called Khensur Rinpoche.

"Visions of Tibet" concludes with the German-language film The Saltmen of Tibet. Like Reincarnation, Saltmen uses a documentary approach to portray Tibetan culture. First-time Russian director Ulrike Koch tells the story of a nomadic tribe making annual journey to collect salt, which provides them with the economic means of survival.

The four films were selected by Jeff Dennler, president of Students for a Free Tibet. Dennler's Midwestern background didn't initially expose him to the cause, but once at Duke and "looking to fill up some free time," he found himself drawn to the work of SFT as a sophomore and has been involved ever since.

"Tibetans are unusual in the arena of oppressed peoples," says Dennler, explaining the reasons for focusing his energy on Students for a Free Tibet. "Led by the Dalai Lama, they met oppression with compassion." This concept of compassionate resistance is the unifying feature of the large and geographically diffused Tibetan population, and the theme of SFT's film series. "If you make an effort to learn about Tibet," promises Dennler, "you will not be disappointed."