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Pema Tseden

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Pema Tseden
པད་མ་ཚེ་བརྟན།
Tseden in 2012
BornDecember 1969
Guide County, Qinghai, China
Died8 May 2023(2023-05-08) (aged 53)
Alma materNorthwest University for Nationalities
Beijing Film Academy
Occupation(s)Director, screenwriter
Years active1991–2023
Organization(s)China Film Directors' Guild
China Film Association
Chinese Film Literature Association
Notable workThe Silent Holy Stones
Tharlo

Pema Tseden (Tibetan: པད་མ་ཚེ་བརྟན།, Wylie: pad ma tshe brtan), also called Wanma Caidan (simplified Chinese: 万玛才旦; traditional Chinese: 萬瑪才旦; pinyin: Wàn mǎ cái dàn; December 1969 – 8 May 2023) was a Chinese Tibetan film director and screenwriter.[1] He was a professor at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou[2] and a member of the Film Directors Guild of China, China Film Association, and Chinese Film Literature Association. He is known for making many films entirely in Tibetan language and presenting a more realistic depiction of Tibetan life as opposed to the exoticism often associated with the region.

Biography

Early life and education

Pema Tseden was born into a pastoral family, in Guide County, Qinghai, in December 1969, during the Cultural Revolution. He was raised by his grandfather, who was a monk.[3] He was the only one of three siblings to have finished school.[4] He graduated from Northwest University for Nationalities, where he majored in Tibetan Language and Literature. After graduation, he worked as a primary school teacher and a civil servant. Then he pursued advanced studies at China's most prestigious film school, Beijing Film Academy, where he became the Academy's first-ever Tibetan student.[4][5]

Career

Pema Tseden's debut work, The Silent Holy Stones, won the Best Directorial Debut at the 25th Golden Rooster Awards, Asian New Talent Award for Best Director at the 9th Shanghai International Film Festival, Special Jury Award at the 8th Changchun Film Festival, and Best First Feature at the 13th Beijing College Student Film Festival.

In 2009, Soul Searching won the Special Jury Award at the 12th Shanghai International Film Festival and was nominated for Golden Goblet Award.

Tharlo, a film adaptation based on the novel of the same name by himself, won the Best Adapted Screenplay at the 52nd Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards, also prizes in the 23rd Beijing College Student Film Festival, and the film was nominated for Golden Lion at the 72nd Venice International Film Festival.[6][7]

In June 2016, Pema Tseden was detained by police after attempting to re-enter the baggage claim area at Xining airport to retrieve one of his luggage.[8] The police said he refused to cooperate and suffered three cuts where the handcuff dug into his skin. His colleagues reported that during the scuffle, he was grabbed by the hair and suffered many bruises, after which he was interrogated all night. On Saturday, he was ordered to serve administrative detention but was hospitalized the following Monday after experiencing headaches, chest pains, and high blood sugar. Wang Lei, media director for Tharlo, said Pema Tseden had diabetes and was not able to medicate normally during detention.[9] The Film Directors Guild of China issued a statement calling for an investigation into whether the police had used excessive force.[10]

Pema Tseden was the first filmmaker in greater China to make films entirely in Tibetan language.[10] He was known for his realistic portrayal of modern Tibetans, compared to the more mystical depictions often associated with the region.[8]

Filmmakers are starting to more accurately capture the essence of life in Tibet. They are starting to let go of the old stereotypes.

— Pema Tseden, The New York Times

Death

Pema Tseden died from heart failure on 8 May 2023, at the age of 53. He was about to finish the ninth film that would have been both written and directed by himself.[11][12] He had a son.[2]

Filmography

Film

Year English title Tibetan title Chinese title Director
2002 The Silent Holy Stones ལྷང་འཇགས་ཀྱི་མ་ཎི་རྡོ་འབུམ། 静静的嘛呢石
2004 The Grassland རྩྭ་ཐང་། 草原
The Weatherman's Legacy 最后的防雹师
2005 The Last Hail Suppresso 末代防雹师  
2007 Soul Searching (or The Search) འཚོལ། 寻找智美更登
嘎陀大法会
桑耶寺
2011 Old Dog ཁྱི་རྒན། 老狗
2009 Flares Wafting in 1983 喇叭裤飘荡在1983
2014 The Sacred Arrow གཡང་མདའ། 五彩神箭
2015 Tharlo ཐར་ལོ། 塔洛
2017 My Little Lama   ངའི་བཙུན་ཆུང་། 我的小喇嘛  
2018 Jinpa ལག་དམར། 撞死了一只羊
2019 Balloon དབུགས་ལྒང་། 气球
2020 Cordyceps   冬虫夏草  
Singer གླུ་པ། Screen writer
2022 Eternal Day 永恒的一天   Director
Strangers
2023 Seventeen Mile 十七英里  
Snow Leopard གངས་གཟིག 雪豹  
2024 Have a nice trip   འགྲུལ་ལམ་བདེ་མོ། 祝你旅途愉快

Bibliography

  • Enticement: Stories of Tibet, translated by Patricia Schiaffini-Vedani and Michael Monhart, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press ISBN 9781438474267[13]

Awards

Year Award Category Work Result Notes
2005 25th Golden Rooster Awards Best Directorial Debut The Silent Holy Stones Won
10th Busan International Film Festival New Currents Award Nominated
2006 9th Shanghai International Film Festival Asian New Talent Award for Best Director Won
8th Changchun Film Festival Best Director Nominated
Special Jury Award Won
13th Beijing College Student Film Festival Best First Feature Won
2007 7th Chinese Film Media Award Best New Director Nominated
2009 12th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet Soul Searching Nominated
Special Jury Award Won
7th Bangkok International Film Festival Grand Jury Prize Won
62nd Locarno International Film Festival Best Film Nominated
25th Warsaw International Film Festival Nominated
3rd Seoul Digital Film Festival Nominated
53rd London International Film Festival Nominated
Nantes Three Continents Film Festival Nominated
16th Beijing University Film Festival Nominated
2011 12th Tokyo Future International Film Festival Best Picture Old Dog Won
2012 Brooklyn Film Festival Best Native Feature Won [14]
2014 17th Shanghai International Film Festival Golden Goblet The Sacred Arrow Nominated
2015 Chinese Film Directors Association Screenwriter of the Year Nominated
72nd Venice International Film Festival Golden Lion Tharlo Nominated
52nd Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Adapted Screenplay Won
Best Feature Film Nominated
2016 23rd Beijing College Student Film Festival Artistic Exploration Award Won
Best Picture Nominated
Best Director Nominated
22nd Visul Asia International Film Festival Golden Tricycle Award Won
Paris Oriental Language Award Won
16th Tokyo Filmex Best Film Won
Student Jury Award Won
12th China Independent Film Exhibition Best Film of the Year Won
17th Chinese Film Media Awards Best Film Nominated
Best Director Nominated
Best Screenplay Nominated
2017 31st Golden Rooster Awards Best Low-budget Feature Won
2018 75th Venice International Film Festival Best Screenplay Jinpa Won [15]
55th Golden Horse Awards Best Director Nominated
Best Nominated
3rd Lizhi International Film Festival Best Film Won
2019 76th Venice International Film Festival Balloon Nominated
2019 Toronto International Film Festival Contemporary World Cinema Nominated
24th Busan International Film Festival A Window on Asian Cinema Nominated
20th Tokyo Filmex Won
Asia-Pacific Film Festival Best Film Nominated
5th Chicago International Film Festival Best Screenplay Won
2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival Best Film Won [16]

References

  1. ^ Yangqiao, Lu (6 April 2016). "PEMA TSEDEN with Lu Yangqiao". The Brooklyn Rail. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  2. ^ a b May, Tiffany (13 May 2023). "Pema Tseden, Pioneering Tibetan Filmmaker, Is Dead at 53". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 May 2023.
  3. ^ "The long take". The Economist. Vol. 447, no. 9347. 20 May 2023. p. 82.
  4. ^ a b "Pema Tseden: Tibetan Films for Tibetan People". Asia Society. 10 April 2010.
  5. ^ "Film Series: Soul-Searching in Tibet". Asia Society and Museum. 15 April 2010.
  6. ^ 万玛才旦导演作品《塔洛》获金马奖四项提名. Ifeng (in Chinese). 2 October 2015.
  7. ^ Guo Rui and Du Xinmao (17 November 2015). 万玛才旦：我不是塔洛，他太孤独. Ifeng (in Chinese).
  8. ^ a b Ramzy, Austin (29 June 2016). "Tibetan Director Hospitalized After Detention by Chinese Police". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  9. ^ "Tibetan filmmaker hospitalised after being taken from Chinese airport by police – report". Hong Kong Free Press. 29 June 2016.
  10. ^ a b Brzeski, Patrick (29 June 2016). "Tibetan Filmmaker Hospitalized After Detention by Chinese Police". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
  11. ^ "著名导演万玛才旦因心脏病去世！第9部电影刚杀青". HSW. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  12. ^ Wang, Xintong (8 May 2023). "Award-Winning Chinese Director Pema Tseden Dies at 53". Caixin Global.
  13. ^ "Enticement: Stories of Tibet". IIAS.
  14. ^ "Tibetan filmmaker wins 'Best Feature' at Brooklyn Film Festival". Catholic Online. 13 June 2012.
  15. ^ "Chinese film Jinpa wins Orizzonti prize at Venice". China Daily. 11 September 2018. Retrieved 3 October 2018.
  16. ^ Chen Chen (9 December 2019). 第二届海南岛国际电影节闭幕，万玛才旦《气球》摘“金椰”. thepaper.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 18 February 2020.
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