Best Documentary Award goes to film on mining in Tibet

A documentary on mining in Tibet received one of the 13 awards announced at the conclusion of the 10th Free Spirit Film Festival in McLeod Ganj late Wednesday.

Plundering Tibet, a short documentary about the dire consequences of China’s ruthless mining in Tibet, was given the Best Documentary award.

As a Canadian, filmmaker Michael Buckley had a personal take on the issue because of the involvement of Canadian companies in mining in Tibet — and the railway to Lhasa.

Following the arrival of the train in Tibet in 2006, large-scale mining of lithium, gold, copper, lead, crude oil, natural gas, and other resources is under way to feed China’s voracious industrial sector.

Tibetans have vigorously protested the defilement of their sacred mountains by Chinese mining operations. None of the mining operations benefit Tibetans.

In fact, mining pollutes drinking water, kills the livestock, and degrades the grasslands on which Tibetan nomads depend. A disaster of Biblical proportions is unfolding in Tibet — so big you can see it happening on Google Earth — the mines, the pollution, the environmental damage.

The environmental impact may go far beyond Tibet’s borders because of rivers that run downstream to ten Asian nations — including India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, Burma and Vietnam, the filmmaker says.

Plundering Tibet also received the Special Jury Prize.

Umformung — The Transformation was the concluding film of the festival. The director of the film, Sudeep Ranjan Sarkar, presented the film, which has two parallel stories: One, that of a Buddhist monk in a search for his inner truths, and the other of a female city builder whose belief in life is all about power, greed, and manipulation.

The Best Director and Best Music awards were given to the film.

The Best Picture award went to Agnus Dei, a film directed by Agim Sopi from Kosovo. It is a story of soldier in the war between Serbia and Albania, who unknowingly kills his father Dini whom he had never met, and also falls in love with Dini’s daughter.

The Best Screenplay award went to Eight, directed by Peter Black. The Visit, directed by Inbar Horesh from Israel, won the Best Short Film award. Greed, a film by Erhan Yuruk from Turkey, was chosen for the Audience Award.

Kyrie, directed by Holger Klussmann, won the Best Cinematography award, and Tête-à-Tête directed by Lisa Reznik was given the Best Editing award.

Dimensions, directed by Okan Çalışkan from Turkey, was chosen for Best Art Direction.

Fantasy film Admirer’s Gift by Indian filmmaker Nikhil got the award for Best Original Concept.

Silent short film Now Here, directed by Beatrice Grande, got a Special Mention in the awards.