2025 Short Film Competition - Jury Award Winners
The Jury Award, also known as the “Yak Prize” is decided by the Short Film Competition Jury members who bring a wealth of experience, passion for film and dedication to storytelling. The 2025 distinguished Jury members were filmmakers Tenzin Tsetan, Kunsang Kyirong, Sonam Tseten, cultural anthropologist Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang, and artist and musician YESHE. You can read more about the 2025 Jury here.
A huge congratulations to the Jury Award winners Kunchock Rabten (India) and Migmar Jannot (France), and heartfelt thank you to our jury and participating filmmakers for helping us champion new voices in Tibetan cinema.
A Phone Call
Kunchok Rabten (India)
14min 41sec
A single Tibetan mother sends her only son to India in the hope of a better future but the fate has a different plan.
Kunchok Rabten
Kunchok Rabten is a Tibetan short story writer, translator, and filmmaker based in Dharamsala, India. Born in Tibet, he came to India at the age of 17. His work focuses on storytelling across literature and film, exploring themes of memory, identity, and contemporary Tibetan life.
He is the author of the children’s series The Adventures of Norbu (2023) and has translated several notable works, including The Pearl by John Steinbeck and Why the Dalai Lama Matters by Robert Thurman.
His debut short film, A Phone Call (2025), supported by the Drung Film Collective, explores the fate and often unseen struggles of Tibetan newcomers in India. He is currently developing a new film project, The Goldfish of Norbulingka.
Lobsang on Camera
Migmar Jannot (France)
14min 04sec
A young monk at Drepung Monastery becomes the subject of a short film, during the filmmaker’s visit to see her uncle. Through the camera, their connection is built. The film explores how their relationship is shaped by this cinematic process.
Migmar Jannot
Born in Kham, Tibet, Migmar spent 7 years at the Tibetan Children’s Village in Dharamsala, India, before relocating to France at 14. Raised by her adoptive mother, French artist Véronique Jannot, Migmar discovered a passion for cinema, teaching herself filmmaking and editing online using a Panasonic GH5—the same camera she uses to film with today.
She later joined the École Supérieure d’Études Cinématographiques where she specialised in cinematography. Migmar has contributed to French feature films as a camera and production assistant, as well as directing short films and music videos for the Tibetan artist community in Paris.
Her short, Lobsang On Camera, was born during a visit to her uncle at Drepung Monastery in South India while filming for an ongoing project. Recently, Migmar’s documentary was one of twelve projects selected for the prestigious Atelier Doc program at La Fémis. Her upcoming project explores the intimate lives and narratives of the Tibetan diaspora in Paris.
2025 Short Film Competition - Audience Award Winners
The Audience Award is voted by the audience at each Tibet Film Festival location. A huge congratulations to the winning filmmakers and a heartfelt thank you to all the filmmakers who contributed to the competition. Congratulations to the Audience Award Winners and of course our wonderful audiences in each TFF city!
Dharamsala audience award
In Dharamshala, where the TFF Short Film Competition preselection was shown as part of the Tibetan Youth Festival on 11 September, the audience’s top choice was “The Curse” by Tenzin Gurmey (Belgium). His film received 63 out of 197 votes, with “Butter Tea” by Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur (USA) as the runner-up with 42 votes.
The Curse
Tenzin Gurmey (Belgium)
7min 33sec
Three Tibetan friends on their first hike in a European forest discover a strange doll that seems to follow them, their fun trip turns into a scary night as they get lost, and the forest seems to come alive.
Tenzin Gurmey
Tenzin Gurmey is a Brussels-based film director and director of photography (DP), known for his distinctive visual storytelling. Born in Dharamshala, he was immersed in the arts from a young age, inspired by his father, a thangka artist. His creative path led him to Belgium in 2013, where he honed his skills in photography and later earned a Professional Bachelor in Film/TV/Video from Narafi, graduating in 2024 with the Best Film of the Year award.
As a freelancer, Gurmey directs and shoots commercials, short films, and music videos that have garnered millions of views. He also contributes to the Belgian film industry as a camera assistant, gaining valuable on-set experience. Driven by a passion for his cultural heritage, Gurmey aims to one day direct a feature-length Tibetan film with an all-Tibetan crew, bringing authentic Tibetan stories to a global audience.
Zurich Audience Award
At the Tibet Film Festival in Zurich the audience cast a total of 112 votes, with “Butter Tea” by Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur receiving the winning number with 45 votes, and “Lobsang on Camera” by Migmar Jannot (France) as runner-up with 25 votes.
Butter Tea
Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur (USA)
10min 42 sec
Set in the heart of Queens, New York, Butter Tea tells the story of Tenzin, a young Tibetan-American barista who begins his first day at a newly opened Tibetan cafe. Among the cafe's regular customers is an elder Tibetan named Dorjee who always orders the traditional Tibetan drink of butter tea.
Their daily interactions spark an unexpected bond as the two connect across generations, and Tenzin is gradually pulled into a deeper understanding of his cultural identity, guided by Dorjee's quiet wisdom and stories. Rooted in the Tibetan diaspora experience, Butter Tea explores the power of oral tradition and mentorship in preserving heritage. The film invites viewers to see how something as simple as making tea can become an act of remembrance and belonging.
Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur
Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur is a Tibetan filmmaker and visual artist with over 15 years of experience in photography, videography, and design.
His work spans portraits, and music videos, including “Tsampa” with Tibetan artist Shapaley which is featured in the Horniman Museum in London and Tibet Museum in Dharamsala, India. "Butter Tea" is his narrative directorial debut, a deeply personal film rooted in the Tibetan diaspora experience.
LONDON Audience Award
The Audience Award for the London edition of Tibet Film Festival went to “Lobsang on Camera” by Migmar Jannot with 26 votes, and “Butter Tea” by Tenzin Wangchuk Tasur as runner-up with 22 votes.