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Ritoma

High on the Tibetan Plateau, the old way of life is on the decline. We follow the nomads of Ritoma as they navigate the collision of tradition and modernity.

  • Ruby Yang
    Director
    The Blood of Yingzhou District
  • Ruby Yang
    Producer
    My Voice, My Life
  • Ruby Yang
    Writer
  • Willard Johnson
    Key Cast
    "Willard Johnson"
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    《仁多瑪》
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    57 minutes
  • Completion Date:
    April 8, 2018
  • Production Budget:
    150,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Hong Kong
  • Country of Filming:
    China
  • Language:
    English, Tibetan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16.9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • 41st Asian American International Film Festival
    New York
    United States
    July 29, 2018
    North America Premiere
    Official Selection
  • ‎Himalayan International Film Festival‎
    Seattle
    United States
    July 8, 2018
    Special Screening
Distribution Information
  • Harbour Rights
    Country: Worldwide
    Rights: Free TV, Paid TV
  • The Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
    Country: United States
    Rights: Video on Demand, Video / Disc
Director Biography - Ruby Yang

DIRECTOR’S BIO

Ruby Yang directed THE BLOOD OF YINGZHOU DISTRICT which won the Academy Award for best documentary short in 2007, and THE WARRIORS OF QIUGANG, which received a nomination in the same category in 2011. The Wall Street Journal called her 2014 documentary, MY VOICE, MY LIFE, one of the “five most essential films” to come out of Hong Kong that year. Her recent documentary IN SEARCH OF PERFECT CONSONANCE received the Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Sedona International Film Festival. She has been the HKU Hung Leung Hau Ling Distinguished Fellow in Humanities. She now heads the Hong Kong Documentary Initiative at the University of Hong Kong to nurture the next generation of documentary filmmakers in the region

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

My research for a video project about sustainability on the Tibetan Plateau led me to Norlha Workshop in Ritoma. The workshop trains and employs former Tibetan nomads using yak fiber from local region, transforming the raw materials into luxurious clothing products such as scarves and shawls. Through skills and income, former nomads can reduce their reliance on traditional nomadic herding which is now under threat due to climate change and overgrazing.

To me, Ritoma represented an intriguing dichotomy: nomads were being economically empowered through being educated and learning new skills, and yet, in giving up herding, they were also fighting to preserve their nomadic culture and traditions. As a filmmaker,
I felt that documentary was the perfect tool to capture Ritoma’s ongoing transition, which would be an important part of the village’s collective memory and history. In the summer of 2016, I was told about the first ever regional basketball tournament in the village. Norlha’s team, coached by an American, would be competing. I found basketball an exciting metaphor of Ritoma’s modernization, so I quickly gathered a small crew to witness and capture the events.