Award winner documentary MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE to have its India premiere at All Lights India International Film Festival held in Kochi on November 16

Award winner documentary MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE to have its India premiere at All Lights India International Film Festival held in Kochi on November 16

Mumbai, November 16, 2015: After making the world premiere at DOC NYC, America’s largest documentary festival in 2014, the award-winning documentary MISS TIBET: BEAUTY IN EXILE will have its India premiere at All Lights India International Film Festival held in Kochi from 16-19 November 2015

The coming of age documentary follows the young Ms. Khecheo's journey to Dharamshala as she competes in an unusual--and controversial--beauty pageant for Tibetan exiles. It is a journey of self-discovery as well as a return to her roots. Growing up in America, born in India, exiled from her parent's homeland, she struggles with her cultural identity in ways that will resonate with Indian audiences.

 

Norah Shapiro, director of the film, who is thrilled to be coming to India says, "Bringing the film to the Indian audience is particularly gratifying and exciting because the bulk of the film takes place in India, which has graciously hosted the exiled Tibetan community since 1959. In addition, the film's subject, Ms. Tenzin Khecheo, was born in India and took her first trip back to her birthplace during the course of the film."  

She adds, "The cultural influence of India on the evolving Tibetan exile culture is evident throughout the film. We hope that the film will provide a forum for speaking out about the Tibetan situation, as well as give audiences the chance to experience Tibetan culture."

Since its world premiere one year ago at the prestigious DOC NYC Film Festival in New York, Miss Tibet: Beauty in Exile produced by Flying Pieces Productions has been delighting audiences at film festivals across the United States. Highlights include "Best of the Fest" awards at the Minneapolis/ St. Paul International Film Festival, the Asian American International Film Festival and the 2015 Global Peace Festival. The film has received glowing reviews in Hollywood Reporter, Bust Magazine, Indiewire, Independent Magazine and many more.

Film Synopsis

High in the Indian Himalayas, in the epicenter of the exiled Tibetan world, a maverick Tibetan impresario stages an unexpected spectacle: a western-style beauty pageant. Pageant founder Lobsang Wangyal seeks to fill a void within the Tibetan exile community by bringing a bit of glamour into his corner of the world. Complete with catwalks and evening gowns, he sees his pageant as an opportunity for exiled Tibetan women to both immerse themselves in Tibetan culture and to add their voices to global fight for a free Tibet by using the pageant as a unlikely political platform.

When Tibetan-American teenager Tenzin Khecheo travels to Dharamsala to participate in this 'pageant with a difference,' she finds herself not just competing for a crown, but confronting the intersection between her cultural identity and life in the western world

Norah Shapiro is available for interviews. Kindly let us know if you would like to speak to her.