Expanding the Horizons of Tibetan Cinema at “Erinnerungen an Heute / Memories of Today”
Memories of Today
Gemeinde Köln, 2025
This summer, the vibrant arts scene at Ebertplatz in Cologne became a space where voices from diverse cultures, continents, and lived experiences converged to reflect on the pressing questions of our time. Among the more than 50 international artists invited to participate in “Erinnerungen an Heute / Memories of Today”, the Drung Tibetan Filmmakers Collective brought stories rooted in exile, statelessness, and cultural memory into the heart of Europe.
Organized by Gemeinde Köln, this two-month festival of film, dance, and visual art ran from 12 July to 28 August 2025 and offered free public access to experimental and socially engaged works. The program was curated in close collaboration with artists and cultural practitioners from around the world and took place primarily at Ebertplatz, a central and accessible urban site in Cologne.
Drung’s Contribution: Films That Speak Across Borders
At the core of the festival’s film program, presented through an open-air cinema at the Ebertplatzpassage, was a carefully curated selection of works addressing displacement, identity, colonial legacies, and the lived realities of marginalized communities. Within this international context, Drung Tibetan Filmmakers Collective participated as both an artistic and cultural voice, contributing Tibetan perspectives to a broader global conversation.
Drung was listed among the featured film artists and contributors whose works explored how power, violence, and history shape personal and collective memory. The collective’s inclusion highlighted the importance of amplifying voices that often remain outside dominant cultural and cinematic narratives.
Two filmmakers associated with Drung, Tenzin Kalden and Sonam Tseten, were part of the official festival roster, further strengthening the presence of Tibetan cinema and Tibetan exile narratives within the program.
Reframing “Today” Through Shared Histories
“Erinnerungen an Heute” invited audiences to reflect on how contemporary societies are shaped by post-colonial realities, global media networks, and histories of displacement and exclusion. The festival’s community-oriented structure created space for dialogue, encounter, and exchange across cultures.
By situating Tibetan stories within this international framework, Drung’s participation underscored how the Tibetan exile experience resonates with broader global struggles around belonging, memory, and justice. These films did not ask to be viewed in isolation, but as part of a shared human condition shaped by borders, power, and resilience.
Cinema as a Space for Connection
In a festival defined by openness, accessibility, and cross-cultural exchange, Drung’s presence extended beyond the act of screening films. It reaffirmed cinema as a space for connection, allowing stories from the Tibetan diaspora to travel from the Himalayas to a public square in Cologne, and from local exile communities to international audiences.
Through film and conversation, Drung Tibetan Filmmakers Collective contributed to expanding the festival’s vision, inviting viewers to reflect not only on their own memories of today, but also on how others remember, endure, and imagine futures across borders.
