Tibet film festival london | 27 & 28 october, 1 & 2 november 2025

Tibet Film Festival London is back for its 5th edition!

We’re excited to announce the programme details and hope you will join us for our biggest festival edition yet.

Tibet Film Festival London and Abramorama present a special screening of "Wisdom of Happiness" featuring Q&A with Executive Producer Richard Gere, Directors Barbara Miller and Philip Delaquis and International Campaign for Tibet's President Tencho Gyatso.

"Wisdom of Happiness" shows us a timeless truth: happiness is still possible, even in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. This powerful message of hope is delivered as a personal audience with one of the greatest living thinkers, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tenzin Gyatso, known to billions around the world as the Dalai Lama. Speaking as a member of our single global community, he shares practical wisdom for finding peace, compassion, and hope in the midst of chaos. With disarming clarity and deep humanity, he invites us to imagine — and help create — a world where compassion is activated as our strongest force for change, and happiness is within reach for everyone.

This special screening is the opening event of this year's Tibet Film Festival London and is part of the Year of Compassion in honour of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's 90th birthday.

Join us for a very special evening! Book your place here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tibet-film-festival-london-wisdom-of-happiness-qa-with-richard-gere-tickets-1858312896899?aff=oddtdtcreator

Event Description: Following successful screenings in Zurich and Dharamsala, we're bringing an unmissable program of eight preselected films from our Short Film Competition to the Genesis Cinema.

The Tibet Film Festival Short Film Competition is a vital, bi-annual event that serves as the premiere platform for emerging Tibetan filmmakers to share their stories with the world. Join us to watch all eight films and cast your vote for the London Audience Award. At this screening we will also announce the 2025 Jury Award Winner.

For more information on the short films please visit: https://www.tibetfilmfestival.org/2025-preselection

Event Description: This UK Premiere of State of Statelessness by Drung Collective as part of Tibet Film Festival London will be introduced in-person by cultural anthropologist Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang.

State of Statelessness is the first-ever Tibetan-language anthology feature film, exploring the profound themes of statelessness and migration through four poignant stories of Tibetans living in exile. Directed by Tibetan filmmakers in India, America, and Vietnam, the film captures the painful realities of a scattered people, from a father’s tale of the Mekong River to a son’s discovery of a family secret in Dharamshala.

The screening will be followed by a storytelling workshop* led by Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang at the nearby Poetry Society drawing on the themes of the film. *The workshop requires a separate ticket, details are below!

Event Description: What counts as history? Why are the stories of ordinary people important to the history of Tibet? How can we help preserve and share these narratives?

This presentation and hands-on workshop, led by Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang, will explore the vital role of individual stories in shaping our understanding of Tibetan history*. This workshop will be conducted in English and is open to all aged 18 and over.

About the Facilitator: Dr. Dawa Lokyitsang is a Tibetan American political and historical anthropologist. Her scholarship looks at Tibetan agency as an anti-colonial effort in response to China’s developing imperial colonialism in Tibet. Her scholarship on Tibetan schools in India historicises the national agency of Tibetans in exile and examines how the preservation of their national and spiritual identity as Tibetans became grounds for community-building and movement-generating efforts that regularly unsettle China’s settler-colonial consumption of Tibet.

*Please note that the workshop follows a screening of State of Statelessness at the nearby Garden Cinema (1 Nov, 2pm, tickets available here) and will refer to themes and topics raised in the film. We recommend coming to the film screening and then joining the workshop to get the most out of both!*

Event Description: Join us for this year's Festival's closing film, the UK premiere of award-winning "Mola - A Tibetan Tale of Love and Loss" by Yangzom Brauen and Martin Brauen. This is a beautifully made documentary film about Kunsang Wangmo, known as “Mola” (grandmother) who has been away from home for nearly 60 years. A Buddhist nun exiled from her native Tibet since 1959, Mola’s final wish is to return to Tibet to die in her homeland. With her 100th birthday approaching, time is running out.

After the film we will be joined by Lama Zangmo, Director and Resident Teacher at the Kagyu Samye Dzong London Buddhist Centre. Lama Zangmo will lead a short meditation and also offer her thoughts on the themes from the film including compassion, death and impermanence. There will be time for a short Q&A and discussion.

TIBET FILM Festival LONDON Closing Drinks

Date: Sunday, 2nd November 2025
Time: 5:30pm
Venue: Squeeze Bar, 130 Kingsland High Street, London, E8 2lQ

Join us at Squeeze Bar, Dalston (opposite the Rio Cinema!) for an informal event to wind down the 2025 edition of Tibet Film Festival London. Meet our whole team and we will also screen the winner of the Audience Award and the Jury Prize Winner of the Short Film Competition. This event is free entry, no booking required and all are welcome!