Press Kit
A PRODUCTION BY:
CLEAR MIRROR PICTURES
AND
WILDERNESS FILMS INDIA LTD.
A FILM BY PEMA DHONDUP
Written and Directed by Pema Dhondup
Produced by Rupin Dang and Pema Dhondup
Executive Producer Yangchen Dolkar
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
Crew:
| Associate Producers |
Tamdin Phuntsok
Kelsang Deckyi
Prem Sagar |
|
1st Assistant Director |
Rajeev Ahuja |
|
2nd Assistant Director |
Kimberly Dukes |
|
3rd Assistant Director |
Kelsang Tsering Khangsar |
|
2nd 2nd Assistant Director |
Kelsang Youdon |
|
Cinematographer |
Pierre Pasler |
|
Production Designer |
Kunchok Sherab |
|
Picture Editor |
Jaj Padmakaran |
|
Assistant Editor |
Rajarshi Sengupta |
|
Sound Design |
Rajarshi Sengupta |
|
1st Assistant Camera |
Punit Goyal |
|
2nd Assistant Camera |
Piyush Sharma |
|
3rd Assistant Camera |
Shailender Negi |
|
Production Manager |
Yeshi G. Tharchen |
|
Location Sound recording |
Darshan Singh |
|
Boom operator |
Tseten Dorjee |
|
Script supervisor |
Sonal Chander |
|
Make-up and wardrobe |
Keslang Deckyi |
|
Publicity design |
Nishant Pagare |
Post production Asst. |
Arianga Donna Pamei |
|
Subtitles |
Nishant Pagare |
|
Public relations |
Prasad.R.Torvi Kanishka Mehta Nishant Pagare |
|
Party Songs |
Tsering Gyurme |
|
Background Song |
Thangton Lukhar |
|
Website designers |
Paul B and Penpa Tsering |
|
Travel agent |
Tibet Tours and Travels |
|
Electrician |
Trilok Singh |
| Production Asst. |
Nyima. Lobsang |
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
CAST:
|
Sonam Wangdue |
Tenzin |
|
Ngawang Woethoe |
Damdul |
|
Tsering Dorjee Bawa |
Pasang |
|
Sonam Phuntsok |
Tsering |
|
Gulshan Grover |
Shamsher Singh |
|
Rinzin Dolma |
Lhamo |
|
Penpa Tsering |
Rapten |
|
Rabsel Tulku |
Penpa |
|
Tsultrim Dolma |
Dechen |
|
Tsamchoe |
Momo |
|
Tsering Dorjee |
Tashi |
|
Jennifer Jones |
Suzanne |
|
John Koons |
Peter |
|
Tseten Lhundup |
Samten |
|
Bhim Singh |
Ram Singh |
|
Tenzin Dorjee |
Refugee center official |
|
Harjeet Singh |
Prakash |
|
Tsering Dolma |
Old woman |
|
Soktsang Nigam |
Play actor |
|
Tenzin Loedhen |
Play actor |
|
Karma Tenzin Nyima |
Play actor |
|
Tenzin Woesel |
Minkyi |
|
Kunckok Sherab |
Chinese policeman |
|
Nima Tsering |
Cyber cafe worker |
|
Tashi Detso |
Dawa |
|
Chundhak |
Gyalpo |
|
Rahul Sharma |
Shopkeeper #1 |
|
Hans Raj |
Shopkeeper #2 |
|
Tseten |
Doctor |
|
Thupten Jampa |
Monk |
|
Vinod Arora |
Raja |
|
Rajeev Ahuja |
Beggar |
|
Tenzin Thinley |
Man robbed |
|
Pasang Tsamchoe |
Chinese diplomat #1 |
|
Londen |
Chinese diplomat #2 |
|
Siddharth Pathania |
Mine owner |
|
Nirmal |
Taxi driver |
|
Lobsang Dhonden |
Journalist |
|
Sham Lal |
Delhi Police |
|
Gyakpon Tsephel |
Announcer |
|
Lobsang Yeshi |
Letter boy |
|
Krishna Kumar |
Taxi Driver |
|
Kelsang Deckikyi |
Lady Prisoner |
|
Pema Dhondup |
Play Director |
|
Yeshi Tharchen |
Band Member |
Gulshan Grover As Shamsher Singh
It was a result of Gulshan's love for the Tibetan people that
he took up this project without any compensation.
THANKS, Gulshan!
Film Synopsis:
McLeod Ganj, also known as little Lhasa in India, is a few kilometers above Dharamshala. Tucked away in the foothills of the Himalaya in Northern India, it is a hub of Tibetan activities. Amid the cluster of Tibetan exiled government offices, institutions and organizations, ordinary refugees live with hopes of returning to Tibet someday. However, a generation has changed and so have dreams, desires and aspirations of the people, especially the younger ones.
This story is about them.
Four friends find solace in a small cafe away from McLeod Ganj where they are not pressured by family and societal expectations. It is a perfect little place for unemployed and rejected youth to share and vent their emotions. Run and owned by a local Indian, town people however look at Shiva cafe in contempt. They think it is a hovel for drug addicts and the source of all illegal happenings in Dharamshala.
Damdul, a mute orphan, lives a contented life.Obscure but observant, Damdul's mind is difficult to read.
Tenzin, an unemployed youth, wants go to America where he thinks lie solutions for all his problems. But his father, a Tibetan government employee, expects his son to follow his foot-steps. A conflict of priorities separates them...
Tsering is a carefree man, his life's choices having separated him from his wife. But now he is being separated from his little daughter as well, by his ex-father-in-law, and Tsering will do anything to stop him.
Pasang, a new arrival from Tibet, has a past filled with pain and hatred. A cousin has also made it into exile, and has brought him news of far greater loss than he had expected. A writer by hobby, Pasang authors plays to express his views on the Tibetan freedom struggle. He has written a play for the up-coming drama competition and is acting in it too. He is secretive about its contents, calling it 'sensitive'.
All is not always well for these young men, in their small world. A theft in town changes everything...
Suspected and alienated, the four friends still help each other out, when in trouble. They organize a party to raise funds for Pasang's sister who just arrived from Tibet and needs immediate medication. However, after the party and some drunken pranks, and the excessive bullying by a manipulative police officer, Tenzin gets pushed to a violent mission for Tibet's freedom.
A chilling twist to the story shows that personal objectives not only govern us in life, but also in death! |
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
About the Project:
Dreams seldom come true, but when they do, it is nothing short of a miracle for the dreamer. This project is one such miracle for me. My co-producer, Rupin Dang's commitment along with the dedication of his team at Wilderness Films plus the passionate crew and cast that I got together have only made it possible for us Tibetans to realize this dream; the first ever film about exiled Tibetans!
The journey of a film ends when it's finally laid before the audience. We also will be judged, criticized and perhaps rewarded as well, according to how the film is received. However, the greatest reward for us, the team that came together from around the world, is the love and respect that we have gained for each other as basic human beings.
I was clear that this film, despite being fictional, had to be as real as life in Dharamshala itself, and as such, I based all my decisions, from scripting to post - production, on this commitment. As such, I used a mix of fiction filmmaking and uncontrolled documentary processes using improvisations and real crowds including in one scene, The Dalai Lama's convoy! I think the amalgamation has added a unique flavor to the movie.
The project came through because of the hard work, trust and belief of the cast and the crew who apart from not being paid a penny, were on occasion pushed to the limits. I know now that creativity comes clearly from how one functions within limitations, and this project is a perfect example (almost everyone in the crew stepped in as an extra and our 3rd AD fulfilled 10 different roles!). Begging for favors and at times even kidnapping a random stranger off the road to play an extra (like we did to my mother) became a norm in this production. In all, as much as this is a fiction story, it is also reality...
So, if the Tibetans shed their non-violent path of freedom struggle and pick up arms, it will be a loss for humanity first. |
Director's Biography:
Pema Dhondup
A Fulbright scholar, Pema Dhondup graduated from USC School of Cinema and Television in May 2002, having majored in production. However, prior to his formal film education Pema had learned many tricks of the trade while making news videos and documentaries in India. Actually, the dream chase began almost a decade ago in 1994.
After acquiring a management degree, Pema worked in the Indian corporate world for three years shouldering management responsibilities of a music company. Pema realized a suit and tie were not his working clothes and searched for something more creative to do, leading him into video production. Soon the first and the only news video of the Tibetan people titled SARGYUR, THE NEWS, was born. What began as a test and a social responsibility turned out to be a huge hit (not commercially though) within the exile community. Even H.H. The Dalai Lama praised the effort (which in a way bound Pema to continue the work even in a dire financial state ).Along with 26 issues of the hour long news video along with two feature length documentaries, Pema made 2 promos, 3 institutional films and 6 episodes of a TV series within six years into the field. His role in all these productions encompassed writing and directing to shooting, editing, producing, anchoring, marketing, distributing and even hauling the tapes on his motorcycle on the streets of New Delhi, to vendors, tape houses and post offices.
In 1999 Pema Dhondup came to Los Angeles to join USC, which provided the right atmosphere for him to hone his skills. While acquiring technical skills, Pema concentrated on directing and writing in order to tell unique stories about his people. Perhaps he was quick to learn which is why just in his second year Pema was chosen from the entire graduate program to direct one of the four USC funded narrative short films. This is the most coveted filmmaking experience that graduates compete for at USC. Simulation of the 'real' world conditions of filmmaking is emphasized throughout this production, by bringing together a student crew and making a short film in 3 1/2 months. A psychological drama titled ECHO was directed by Pema , which did well in festivals and continues to do so even now.
After graduation the big question was, what now? Taking time off from productions Pema began writing spec scripts and treatments of stories. WE'RE NO MONKS was born out of this effort. Shot on locations around the exile Tibetan community's hub of activities, it is about the search for meaning in life by four lay- about young boys who under present social, political, family and economic conditions in exile drift into the world of drugs and violence. Presented in the style of neo-realism and docu-drama, this film is as much real as the actual conditions prevalent today, in exile. |
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
Filmography:
SARGYUR: 26 issues of this News magazine were initiated and produced, directed, edited, presented by Pema. They became a new form of mass media for the Tibetan diaspora. Sharp and courageous, Sargyur and Pema became synonymous with the innovative and dynamic presentation of community news.
HUNGER STRIKE UNTO DEATH: A two hour - long documentary made on the 46 days long hunger strike by Tibetans in exile, in Delhi, in 1996. A young man self - immolated himself when Delhi police forcefully removed the strikers from their tents, and the tragedy became a climax for the entire movement, including this moving film.
TABO KALACHAKRA: Another feature length documentary was made in 1997, on the occasion of the celebrations of 1000 years of Tabo monastery which lies in the remote northern Indian state of Spiti.
ECHO: A short film made under USC Cinema School production program Echo marks the beginning of Pema's move into fiction films.Selected to direct this short film amongst the graduate students it is not only a thesis film but also a grilling machine to hone the skills of the entire crew who is put together by the director.
PEACE THROUGH ART: A promotional film made for the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts.
SANSKRITI : 6 EPISODES of this series was made with a friend for satellite Television. Around the corner of Indian Televison boom this intelligent exploration of the diverse Indian culture became quite a success
Pema has other credits in numerous shorts and series in different capacities from D.P to editor. |
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
CONTACT ADDRESS
WILDERNESS FILMSINDIA LTD.
1 Factory Road, Ring Road South,
Adj. Safdarjung Hospital
Ph. nos.: 0091-11-26198255, 26163766, 30913079, 26100336
Fax nos.: 0091-11-26198255, 26163766, 26198954
e-mail: wfil@vsnl.net, wfi@vsnl.com
Website: www.wildfilmsindia.com
CLEAR MIRROR PICTURES
#25 ,3770 Vinton Ave.
Los Angeles, CA 90034
Ph.nos.:310-558-4502, 310-422-9372
e-mail: pema@clearmirrorpictures.com
Website: www.clearmirrorpictures.com
We're No Monks
A struggle for identity
Press kit Contents:
Film Synopsis:
About the Project:
Director's Biography:
Filmography:
Cast & Crew:
Press & Media Releases:
Production Stills
a.) Black & White Stills
b.) Electronic still images
[TIFF 300dpi on CD.]
|
