Authentic appeal

A Tibetan filmmaker focuses on life in his hometown, Raymond Zhou reports.

Tharlo is Pema Tseden's fifth feature film, yet is his first to be screened in movie theaters for what is technically known as a theatrical release.

The reason is simple: Pema Tseden makes personal films with no car chases, explosions or special effects. They are all stories he knows intimately about people in the Tibetan area of Northwest China's Qinghai province, where he grew up.