31 January 2008
Himalaya Film Festival 2008 on 9 and 10 February 2008: 45 films about the
highest peaks in the Netherlands.
Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 February, the Himalaya Film Festival will be held
for the 6th time in De Griffioen, the cultural centre of the Vrije
Universiteit in Amsterdam. For two days, approximately 45 films and
do***entaries from an area the size of Europe will be screened.
Furthermore,
you can enjoy a performance of the remarkable Tibetan band JJI Exile
Brothers and lectures from, amongst others, the American professor Barbara
Brower, who lived for years high up in the mountains among yak herds.
"The programme offers a great diversity of footage; visitors will be
treated
to kaleidoscopic perceptions", organizer Mr Glenn Mitrasing says
enthusiastically. "The theme of the festival is 'compassion' which is what
inspires both participants and organization. It returns throughout the
programme." A striking example is the film A Climb for Peace featuring an
Israeli and a Palestine climbing Mount Everest together. The Kashmir issue
comes up in the film How We Celebrate Freedom and Tibet's situation is
referred to in 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama.
The lecture about the impact of climate change on the yak herds high in
the
Himalaya by the American Professor Barbara Brower is another highlight.
Once
she went there to teach the herds about the management and protection of
high waste lands, but soon she turned out to be the one learning from the
yak herds with their generations of knowledge of and experience with the
most difficult rangelands on earth. However, despite their wealth of
knowledge the yak herds seem to have no answer to the threats of climate
change.
Quite a lot of attention is also given to lighter stuff, for instance in
films like Richard Gere is My Hero and Riding Solo to the Top of the
World.
If you are curious about the sound of blues, jazz and rock mixed with
traditional Tibetan music, you really shouldn't miss the JJI Exile
Brothers'
concert.
"Just like last year, the festival will travel to Japan in October. many
japanese are interested in this theme", says Mr Mitrasing. From Saturday 2
February till Friday 9 February, the digital theme channel Holland Doc
will
broadcast films from earlier editions of the Himalaya Film Festival.
More information about the programme is available on the website
www.himalayafestival.nl You can also order tickets on-line.
The festival will be held on Saturday 9 and Sunday 10 February 2008.
Location: De Griffioen, cultural centre of the Vrije Universiteit,
Uilenstede 106, 1183 AM Amstelveen.
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