Filmmaker to debut Tibet freedom film in Chesterfield

A Baslow-born filmmaker who documented the journey of two children escaping Tibet is to hold Derbyshire’s first screening of the film.

Nick Gray’s film Escape from Tibet follows 11-year-old Tenzin and his brother Pasang, 19, as they negotiate the Himalayas in a bid to escape Chinese oppression in their homeland.

The film was commissioned by ITV and shown in 1995. But Nick has now written a book about their lives since exile, with a foreword by the Dalai Lama. “I have taken the story up and down the country, and people are moved by how the lives of Pasang and Tenzin have turned out,” said Nick who now lives in Lincoln.

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“When the documentary was shown on television it made an immediate impact.

“Several viewers offered help to the brothers and sponsors came forward to pay for Pasang and Tenzin to visit England to learn English.

“It was wonderful to see their joy when they flew in an airplane for the first time, and witness their arrival in the West.”

They now live in London, sending home money to help their family.

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Nick added: “Only now are they willing for this story to be told in book form, an authentic record of what refugees, even though children, will attempt in order to achieve freedom from oppression.”

On February 7, Nick will be showing Escape from Tibet at the Winding Wheel and talking about his new book. “It’s great for me to go back to the Winding Wheel where I used to go to panto,” he said. “I am very fond of the area.”

Call 01246 345 222 to book tickets for the Chesterfield event.