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'The Lost World of Tibet' is a documentary co-production of the BBC and the BFI (British Film Institute). The film shows rare and fascinating footage from Tibet and its medieval society from the 1930s until the 1950s.
The old images are commented by Dan Cruckshank and others, among them the 14th Dalai Lama and members of the Tibetan government in exile.
Tibet, a Medieval Society before 1950
The first part is an overview on the old Tibet and an introduction to the situation of the country before, during and after world war II. As a result of its geographic and self-chosen isolation, the Tibetan society was in a state comparable to maybe the European society in the 16th century. Tibet was dominated by the aristocracy and the monastic clergy.
68 days per year were reserved for festivities. About 20% of the population were monks and nuns living in the monasteries. With the occupation of Tibet by Communist China the old society was crushed and the Tibetan identity has practically been exstinguished.
Dieter Wanczura, August 2010.
