The reason why "A Year in Tibet," a documentary telling life of eight Tibetans, won so much positive feedback from British media is that it reveals a true Tibet and tells interesting stories about ordinary Tibetans, according to Sun Shuyun, director of the documentary.

The first episode of the documentary was aired by BBC on March 6, 2008 and not long afterwards the March 14 riot occurred in Lhasa. "The documentary continued to be in the air for another four weeks, with positive comments from British newspapers," said Sun, an independent filmmaker and a writer, in an exclusive interview with Xinhuanet on Tuesday.

Sun Shuyun (left), director of documentary "A Year in Tibet," speaks during an interview with Xinhuanet in Beijing on Tuesday, Oct. 13. (Xinhua Photo)
"The comments focused on the fact that it reveals a true Tibet, one that Westerns have never seen," she continued. "'True' and 'unprecedented' were the words that they used most to describe Tibet."

The five-episode documentary was filmed in Gyantse, the third largest county in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. The filming team spent a year following a village shaman, a doctor, a junior Party official, a hotel owner, a rickshaw puller, a builder and two monks from Palkor Monastery.

Born in the 1960s in Harbin, Heilongjiang Province, Sun has been living in Britain for 20 years. In Oxford, she learned the Tibetan language from her mentor Michael Aris, a leading Western authority on Bhutanese, Tibetan, and Himalayan culture.

 
Sun Shuyun (left), director of documentary "A Year in Tibet," poses for a photo during an interview with Xinhuanet in Beijing on Tuesday, Oct. 13. (Xinhua Photo)

Tibet has always been appealing to her. The great changes that have taken place in Tibet have prompted Sun to record the disappearing traditions. Also, she wants to know what common Tibetans really care about.

"I am not a journalist, but a documentary director. I don't need to make any comments but to display what I've recorded," said the filmmaker.

"There have been lots of improvements of the living standard of the eight Tibetans in Gyantse, and they have more opportunities than before, for example, for receiving education. But they are also facing a lot of problems," she added.

She took the doctor in the documentary as an example. The female doctor graduated from a junior middle school and studied medicine at a Red Cross Society of Xigaze Prefecture for less than two years. But she is responsible for treating 5,000 people in her township and 2,000 others in a neighboring township.

"As a documentary maker, I record what it is and showcase what a true Tibet looks like at the beginning of the 21st century. It is an unshirkable duty of mine," Sun stressed.

"This helps people to know that there have been improvements in Tibet. Tibet is not in complete darkness as described by some people in the West. Meanwhile, it also indicates that Tibet is not as bright as some people believe. The truth is like this and to me it is the only way to move the audience," said the director.

Another reason why the docummentary won so much praise is that it tells interesting stories about Tibetans, according to Sun.

By the time Sun's team finished shooting in July 2007, they had shot more than 400 hours of video clips, from which five episodes were edited. The episodes are just like telling stories about the locals.

For instance, the team members recorded a Tibetan young man in Gyantse. To make money for his wedding, he went out to build houses for herdsmen. As he was not good at it, he later quarreled with his landlord and went back home empty handed. As he was in bad need of money, he served as a tour guide. Later on he told Sun that he would become a father and that one of his nephews got heart trouble, but could not afford the treatment.

"They have been struggling like this and it is the true stories about them and their ups and downs that can move the audience," said Sun.