Dreams

In Dreams, the artist’s parents – Tibetan exiles – are seen sleeping on a single mattress on the floor, akin to the one they slept on when they first immigrated to the West. The image of the pair embracing on a bed floating within an open, undefined environment – as if any place could be photoshopped around them – heightens the sense of displacement and uncertainty. The work features a soft blanket made in India that is found in many Tibetan homes of the diaspora. “This blanket was one of the things my mother brought with us when we immigrated to the US from India. In this work, I wanted to return to one of my earliest and fondest memories. I wanted to remember that time of innocence.” Tenzin Phuntsog
by Tenzin Phuntsog
with Nawang Phuntsog, Tsekyi Dolma Phuntsog
USA 2022 Without dialogue 2’ Colour

With

  • Nawang Phuntsog (Pala)
  • Tsekyi Dolma Phuntsog (Amala)

Crew

Director Tenzin Phuntsog
Cinematography Tenzin Phuntsog
Editing Tenzin Phuntsog
Sound Design Tenzin Phuntsog
Sound Tenzin Phuntsog
Assistant Director Jonathan Witz
Production Manager Jonathan Witz
Producers Tenzin Phuntsog, Andrea Monti

Produced by

Plateaux Films

Microscope Gallery

Tenzin Phuntsog

Tenzin Phuntsog is a Tibetan-American artist and filmmaker who works across moving image, film, and installation. His personal practice touches into themes of presence and belonging as well as landscape and language. He studied Media Arts at the University of California and holds an MFA in Visual Arts from Columbia University. His works have been exhibited and screened at renowned galleries, museums, and festivals including Videobrasil, São Paulo; IFFR Rotterdam; Anthology Film Archives, New York; Microscope Gallery, New York; and The Eye Filmmuseum, Amsterdam.

Filmography

2010 Four Rivers; 67 min. 2014 A Singing Blade; 15 min. 2018 Rituals of Resistance; 63 min. 2019 The Day the Sun Died; 17 min. 2022 Dreams · Pala Amala (Father Mother) · Achala · Dancing Boy · Summer Grass 2023 Mother Tongue · Next Life

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2023