Wanmacaidan, a Tibetan, who is gaining growing attention for his award-winning first-ever-in-Tibetan film, has said he just wants to make movies to reflect the real and pure life of Tibetans.

The 102-minute movie Silent Holy Stone written and directed by Wanmacaidan himself won the director award for the maiden film in Tibetan at the 25th Golden Rooster awards, dubbed "China's Oscars," earlier this month, tells a story about a little Lama and an old Lama in a changing society.

It is the first-ever in-Tibetan film with Chinese subtitles and was starred by Tibetans.

Wanmacaidan said he wants to express the mutual influence between the tradition and modern times, the devotional religion of the local people and the simple hearted relations among people by epitomizing the "silent changes" taking place in the outlying Tibet.

"Over the past years, many people have told stories of my hometown with words or video, making it covered with a mysterious veil which is difficult to get rid of," Wanmacaidan said, adding that he dislikes people's view that Tibet is a place separated and isolated from the outside world.

Mysterious and charming landscape and people's lives endow Tibet with special cultural and commercial value and attract the worldwide attention. Only in 1997, for instance, Hollywood shot seven films on Tibet.

Chinese filmmakers have been also focusing on Tibet. They have made some films about Tibet over the past decades, including Serfs, Red River Valley and The Horse Thief Composer, few of which, however, is in Tibetan or starred and directed by Tibetans.

"Most of the former films lack profound insight into Tibet and Tibetans," said Wanmacaidan, who aspired to make a pure Tibetan film by using the Tibetan language and actors after graduation from the Beijing Film Academy.

"By the film Silent Holy Stone, we hope to open up the international market on Chinese-made Tibetan-based films, and on the other hand, we are expecting to show the development of the Tibetan culture and society, as well as the spirit and temperament of the ethnic group of people who live on the plateau," Wanmacaidan said.

"Silent Holy Stone," which cost about 300 million yuan (about US$37 million) and spent 40 days shooting, is the first Tibetan movie of Wanmacaidan.

"I'm planning for more Tibetan films," the 36-year-old director said.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2005)