ANGRY MONK - REFLECTIONS ON TIBET

The young Tibetan Buddhist monk Gendun Choephel turned his back on monastic life in 1934. He undertook extended travels throughout Tibet, India, and Sri Lanka in search of new experiences. As a free spirit and multifaceted individual, he was far ahead of his time. Well before the Chinese occupation, in a time of deep religious conservatism and national isolation, he had a vision of a modern and open Tibet. He researched forgotten texts and, while in India, published his thoughts in his own groundbreaking newspaper. Gendun was persecuted and finally incarcerated after he returned to his homeland. He died shortly after the Chinese troops invaded Lhasa. He has since become a symbol of hope for a new generation.

With unique historical footage, seen for the first time, the film oscillates between past and present Tibet, from images of ancient caravans and monasteries to images of the nightclubs and highways of Lhasa. Angry Monk is both a road-movie and a journey through time in the footsteps of a rebellious monk, which reveals a face of old Tibet that defies popular clichés.

"In olden days, even in Europe, the world was thought to be flat. And when some intelligent people claimed the opposite, they were exposed to various difficulties, such as being burnt alive. Today, even in Buddhist countries everybody knows that the world is round. However in Tibet, we still stubbornly state that the world is flat." Gendun Choephel, Newspaper article, Tibet Mirror, Kalimpong, 1938

"The western world only slowly became aware of Choephel because his life story doesn't mesh with our rigid image of Tibet, which prefers to portray Tibetans as victims rather than the makers of their own history." Luc Schaedler

"This absorbing film offers a very useful perspective on recent Tibetan history." The Vancouver Sun

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