PRODUCED, WRITTEN, AND DIRECTED BY ALAN DATER AND LISA MERTON
NEW DAY FILMS
22D HOLLYWOOD AVE.
HOHOKUS, NJ 07423
1995. 55 MINUTES. COLOR
Home to Tibet, produced, written, and directed by Alan Dater and Lisa Merton, is both satisfying as a narrative of the archetypal journey, and beautiful as a filmic record of the unbeatable landscape of Tibet and the indomitable spirit of its people. The film opens with rapid cutting from one stunning scene to another of religious moments that underlie a statement made later, “Our [Tibetan] cultural identity is inseparable from Buddhism.” Cut to the hills of Massachusetts, where Sonam Lama is now a stonemason. As a voice on the soundtrack tells us about the forty-five year occupation of his country, the camera shows us his chisel splitting the rock, suggesting Communist Chinese power breaking religious Tibetan culture.