What Remains of Us

For 50 years, the Tibetans inside the country have hoped that China would allow the Dalai Lama to return. For 50 years, the spiritual and political leader of the Tibetan people had been prevented from crossing the mountains that lead to Lhasa. A small portable video player ended this half-century of absence.

Kalsang Dolma, a Tibetan who immigrated to Quebec in the 1980s, crossed the border into the world's largest prison. She was carrying a portable video player and a message that the 14th Dalai Lama had recorded for Tibetans inside Tibet. In homes, nomads' tents, monasteries, people crowded around the tiny screen, hanging on to every word. But it was a risky undertaking: the renowned monk of Tibetan Buddhism, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, is still viewed by Beijing as a threat to national security. Watching his message in the remotest corners of the Land of Snows, the people of Tibet respond with moving testimonies. For many years, hope had not shown its face on this side of the Himalayas. For one of the first times, Tibetans inside Tibet dare to speak in front of the camera. During her journey to the ends of the earth, Kalsang shares daily life with her people, worn down by 50 years of terror.