Private Project

Un-titled: A Poetic Resistance

Set in McLeod Ganj - the spiritual refuge of the Dalai Lama and the heart of the Tibetan exile community - this film journeys through verses that echo with resistance, remembrance, and resilience. Through the poignant poetry of exiled Tibetan poets, it unravels intimate narratives of political struggle, imprisonment, and the quiet defiance of survival. The film weaves together the lived realities of those in exile with the quiet endurance of those who remain within Tibet’s borders, creating a lyrical and intimate portrait of resilience, memory, and the unyielding pursuit of freedom.

  • Syed Ahmad Rufai
    Director
  • Samiya Chopra
    Camera
  • Shriya Koul
    Camera
  • Anzar Raina
    Editing
  • Sidra Fatima
    Editing
  • Sidra Fatima
    Sound
  • Syed Ahmad Rufai
    Research & Narrative
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Genres:
    Poetic Documentary
  • Runtime:
    17 minutes 17 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 15, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    550 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    English, Tibetan
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    Yes - AJK, MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
  • International Social Justice Film Festival
    Chennai
    India
    Official Selection
  • Red House Indie Film Festival
    Delhi
    India
    Official Selection
  • Flick and Frames - NIV Art Center
    Delhi
    India
    Official Selection
  • Anvaya Film Festival, NID Haryana
    Haryana
    India
    Best Documentary
  • IUST Film Festival (Film South Asia)
    Kashmir
    Official Selection
  • Kashmir World Film Festival
    Kashmir
    Official Selection
  • Cut-in Film Festival
    Mumbai
    India
    Official Selection
Director Biography - Syed Ahmad Rufai

Syed Ahmad Rufai is a storyteller and independent multimedia journalist based in Delhi, hailing from the mystical valley of Kashmir—the land of saints. The valley and the conflict has had a deep impact on the way Rufai weaves his narratives and stories.

A journalist by choice and a storyteller by chance, currently Rufai is pursuing his Master's in Convergent Journalism from AJK, MCRC, Jamia Millia Islamia and mostly likes to photograph time.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

To survive is to resist. To live in the moment is an act of defiance against the weight of tyranny too.
In conflict's shadow, where oppression thrives, poets rise with words carving the silences of pain and loss. They weave the fabric of memory, the threads of identity, resilience, and revolt— an archive of wounds, a counterpoint to the stories told by power.
In lands like Palestine and Kashmir, poetry becomes a weapon of the spirit, a voice where silence is enforced, a light in the darkness of occupation. Mahmoud Darwish, Fadwa Tuqan, Samih al-Qasim, Agha Shahid Ali are some who introspect and inspire.
For Tibetans the soul of people is inscribed in verse, where poetry becomes both a protest and a prayer, a call to resist, to remember, to be.
And so it is with Tibet too.