Final film by late Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden wins Tokyo Grand Prix

"Snow Leopard," the final film made by the late Tibetan film maker Pema Tseden, was awarded the Grand Prix at the closing ceremony of the 36th Tokyo International Film Festival on Wednesday.

Featuring Pema Tsedan's thoughts and insights into life in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province in 2020, the production of "Snow Leopard" took three years to complete, from finalizing the script to filming and post-production. It was the eighth Tibetan-language film produced by the director.

Set against the backdrop of an endangered snow leopard that had killed nine goats of a herder, the film explores different people's perspectives and motivations regarding the incident. The question of whether to release the captured snow leopard held in a sheep pen becomes the focus of the film, where each character has their own convictions and choices to make. Moreover，what appear to be reasonable demands become a trigger for intensifying conflicts among the different parties.

"Snow Leopard" was filmed in Maduo County, Qinghai Province. The area occupies a sparsely populated, high-altitude plateau featuring an abundance of rivers and lakes. Rich in wildlife, it serves as habitat for many endangered species, including the snow leopard.

Jigme Trinley, the executive director of "Snow Leopard" and son of Pema Tseden stated that his father's works, from "The Silent Holy Stones" to "Snow Leopard," have always been about the culture and life of the Tibetan people, as well as the changes, influences, and integration of modern civilization on their way of life and thinking.

"Snow Leopard" represents a breakthrough in Pema Tsedan's cinematic oeuvre, where the director offers audiences a sense of love and optimism set against the backdrop of this bleak environment, reflecting his new outlook on life, the world and Tibetan culture.

Born in December 1969 in a Tibetan-inhabited prefecture of Qinghai Province, Pema Tseden was a Tibetan director, writer and producer who is considered a pioneer of Tibetan-language filmmaking. The director died at the age of 53 on May 8, 2023.