Michael Perlman and Ngawang Sangdrol

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"Tibet: Beyond Fear" — Screening and Talkback

Travels from: New York City

For centuries Tibet, a vast high altitude plateau between China and India, remained remote from the rest of the world with a widely dispersed population of nomads, farmers, monks and traders. Tibet had its own national flag, its own currency, a distinct culture and religion, and controlled its own affairs. In 1949, following the foundation of the Chinese Communist state, the People's Liberation Army invaded Tibet and soon overpowered its poorly equipped army and guerilla resistance.

In March 1959, Tibetans rose up against the Chinese occupiers. The uprising was brutally crushed and the Tibetan leader, His Holiness the XIV Dalai Lama, escaped to India, followed by more than 80,000 Tibetans. Tens of thousands of Tibetans who remained were killed or imprisoned. Untold numbers, but at least hundreds of thousands, of Tibetans have died as a direct result of China's policies since 1949 — through starvation, torture and execution. (Source: International Campaign for Tibet)

"Tibet: Beyond Fear" is a documentary film that highlights the remarkable courage of Ngawang, a 13-year-old Buddhist Nun and Bagdro, a 20-year-old Buddhist monk who led freedom demonstrations against the Chinese repression of Tibet in the 1980s and 1990s.

Following a brutal military crackdown, Bagdro and Ngawang are arrested and endure horrific torture. They withstand electric shocks, terrible beatings and near starvation, but refuse to name names of anyone else involved in the democracy movement. Bagdro escapes Tibet by crossing the Himalayan Mountains on foot. He reaches India where he meets the Dalai Lama.

Ngwang repeatedly protests while in prison and, as a result, receives several extended sentences. Her captors throw her in a dark hole filled with rats for six months, beat several of her fellow women inmates to death, but never break her will. She and other nuns smuggle out a secret recording of protest songs that galvanizes the international community to action.

Bagdro becomes a relentless advocate for political prisoners and helps Amnesty International, International Campaign for Tibet and other human right organizations spearhead an international effort that culminates in Ngwang's release. By cultivating a positive mind, open heart, and inspired by the Dalai Lama, Bagdro and Ngawang forgive their former torturers as they find a way beyond fear.

With an opening by Richard Gere, "Tibet: Beyond Fear" is an award-winning television documentary that has been translated into ten languages and broadcast worldwide.

Michael Perlman — Director

Michael Perlman is an award-winning filmmaker, performing artist, and founder of two not-for-profit organizations, Cross Cultural Solutions (CSS) and Rock to Save Darfur. He has traveled to more than 60 countries and spoken to thousands of people at concert benefits, film screenings, schools and other venues on issues related to human rights, activism, peace, spirituality and religion, and a positive mind. Perlman has been selected by Amnesty International as an official Artist For Amnesty. He works with human rights organizations in the United States, Burma, China and Sudan.

Ngawang Sangdrol

In 1990, at the age of 13, Ngawang Sangdrol, a Tibetan Buddhist nun, protested for freedom in the capital of Lhasa. She was arrested and imprisoned for nine months. Upon her release, she learned that her father, brother and uncle had also been imprisoned for protesting, and that her mother had died from shock. She protested and was arrested again, imprisoned and tortured, but refused to name names of anyone in the freedom movement. Due to her continued protests in prison, her 3-year sentence spiked to a combined sentence of 23 years. Ngawang and 13 other nuns, known as the Drapchi 14, secretly recorded freedom songs inside the prison and smuggled out the cassette tape. When it arrived in the West, it galvanized the international community to action. With remarkable courage and an indomitable will, she became the focal point of a worldwide movement that combined grassroots activism and high-level diplomacy. She was released in 2002, with 9 years remaining on her sentence.

After prison, Ngawang worked for the International Campaign for Tibet in Washington, D.C. in order to help free the remaining political prisoners. She currently lives in New York City where she attends Columbia University and continues her work to help free Tibet.

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