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" F I L M S   C H I N A   N E V E R   W A N T E D   Y O U   TO   S E E "
(Bangalore | January 24, 2010)

'Films China Never Wanted You To See' was organised jointly by Think Tibet and Friends of Tibet and was held at the Centre for Film and Drama, Millers Road, Bangalore on January 24, 2010.

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'Films China Never Wanted You To See' - the title of this event itself has created a lot of interest among people. Within half an hour of sending out of the programme announcement few days ago, we did receive calls from several countries asking us for the list of films included in this package. Some wanted to screen the same films under the same title, some wanted us to organise this event in other cities in India and some just wanted to know what this event is all about.

The concerns and the curiosity among the supporters show the seriousness of this event. We have tried our best to include some of the best documentaries ever made on Tibet's history; it's glorious past and the present situation under the Chinese rule, and films on China's political and environmental condition. The interest and enthusiasm of our supporters and well-wishers force us to make 'Films China Never Wanted You To See' into a travelling documentary film festival to be taken to different cities in India with updated controversial documentary films on China they never wanted you to see.

When Friends of Tibet first screened documentaries in the year 2000, the Chinese Embassy protested to the Ministry of External affairs in New Delhi asking them to stop the event which they considered anti-China. The External Affairs ministry replied by saying, India is a democratic country and we cannot stop an event organised by Indians in this country to spread awareness on various issues. Sometimes people screen films which criticise their own government and its policies!

And in 2004 the organisers of the Asian Film Festival which comprises of eminent people from the Indian film industry decided to drop four Tibetan films provided by Friends of Tibet under pressure from the Chinese Embassy in New Delhi. When the Asian Film Foundation had to choose between the Chinese Government and an organisation like Friends of Tibet, they simply decided to drop films such as Kundun, Little Buddha, The Cup and The Himalaya calling the Friends of Tibet's protest a politically motivated one!

During the initial screenings of the documentary 'What Remains of Us' in 2005, The National Film Board of Canada implemented rigorous security measures by not allowing cameras or cell phones with cameras inside theaters with security guards watching audience with infrared night-vision equipments. All these measures were taken just to prevent faces of the Tibetan interviewees to reach Beijing, which would make the task of PLA to track and arrest the native Tibetans.

World's most favoured nation had no hesitation in sentencing Dhondup Wangchen, a Tibetan filmmaker for six years in jail in December 2009 for committing a 'crime' of interviewing people inside Tibet for his documentary 'Leaving Fear Behind'.

And this month, China withdrew two of its films from the prestigious Palms Springs International Film Festival to protest the inclusion of the Tibetan documentary 'The Sun Behind the Clouds: Tibet's Struggle for Freedom' by Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam. You should be happy to learn that occupied Tibet managed to kick the Chinese films out of the Palms Springs International Festival!

What is China afraid of? The answer is very simple - information! These are small signs of bigger problems that China faces today - not only the political issues of Tibet, East Turkestan and other minority areas but also the impact of an emerging capitalist system and the environmental issues that are going to decide the fate of factory of the world and the roof of the world.

Today, 'Films China Never Wanted You To See' begins its journey from Bangalore.