Dharma/Arte

when the dragon swallowed the sun

When the Dragon swallowed the Sun, conversation with director Dirk Simon

Trailer of When the Dragon swallowed the Sun, documentary by Dirk Simon.

Why hasn’t Tibet been freed? Who is keeping the movement from going forward? Seven years in the making, When the Dragon swallowed the Sun is a ground breaking documentary that takes a closer look at these questions in a quest to understand why the world is still dealing with unsettled issues like the Tibetan cause and what can really be done to eradicate them.

When the Dragon swallowed the Sun shows for the first time an inside perspective on the Tibetan movement to free Tibet from Chinese occupation, its internal conflicts and contradictions.

As writes Dirk Simon, the film’s director and producer: “Many Westerners know more about the cliché of Tibet than about the reality faced by Tibetans in and outside of Tibet. And even when it comes to their freedom movement, most people might believe they know what is going on. But the political movement to liberate Tibet has been corrupted by routine and personal career management. And still today, after a 50-year effort by the 14^th Dalai Lama to bring democracy to the community in exile by installing a Parliament and elections, Tibetans in exile struggle with the concept of making political decisions on their own and often still prefer to simply follow their Dalai Lama — with tragic consequences.”

With a prologue narrated by Dennis Haysbert and an original soundtrack by Philip Glass, Thom Yorke and Damien Rice, this is the first film that presents the complexity of the struggle with such emotional impact. The film features Richard Gere, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, the 14^th Dalai Lama, some of the most prominent Chinese contemporary artists and all the key figures of the exiled Tibetan freedom movement and their followers.

Conversation with Dirk Simon

On April 13^th, Dirk Simon will be in São Paulo, Brazil, and will be talking about these topics and his experience from the seven years he has been working on the film, in a meeting organized by Dharma/Arte. What’s the importance of cinema and art for understanding and discussing history and its meaning, as well its role in a culture of peace? What’s the role of our personal convictions and inspiration, and our creative drive, as paths for changing the world?

If you’re in São Paulo, join this discussion with Dirk Simon. For more information, please email evento@dharma.art.br.

When the Dragon swallowed the Sun: conversation with Dirk Simon. April 13^th, 8:00PM. Espaço Matilha Cultural: rua Rego Freitas, 542 (click here to see the map) — República — São Paulo. Phone: (11) 3256-2636. Informations: evento@dharma.art.br. Institutional support: Espaço Matilha Cultural.

Exhibitions in São Paulo e no Rio de Janeiro

When the Dragon swallowed the Sun will be presented in São Paulo and in Rio de Janeiro,  as part of the  15.^o International Documentary Film Festival É Tudo Verdade/It’s All True, in São Paulo: at Cinemateca, 10/04, 14h00; at Reserva Cultural, 12/04, 21h00; at Cinemateca, 18/04, 20h00; and in Rio de Janeiro: at Instituto Moreira Salles, 11/04, 18h00; e 16/04, 20h00 (program subject to change; please confirm on the Festival website: http://bit.ly/a7SHxw).

Lhagyari Trichen Namgyal Wangchuk, the 18th descendent of Tibet’s Great Dharma Kings.