Every time I do another Q&A for the film, it becomes ever more apparent that a translation into Chinese is needed. If anyone would like to help with this endeavour please get in touch. If ever there was a film that the Chinese government and people needed to see, this is it, I reckon. It is a film for China, not for the West. A translator would be helpful but not only for the film but also for a website. Anyone?

So, the Chinese have raised the terrorist threat in China ahead of the Olympic Games. I suppose this is to be expected. They are going to be on red alert to make sure one of the ‘terrorist groups’ doesn’t derail the games. Also provides the perfect excuse to keep the strong military presence and stranglehold over China at this time. Will the Dalai Lama be sending out his terrorist cohorts to disrupt the games? Well, Documentary Films have an interesting take on the film which does well to explain the importance of the film.

Take a look: http://www.documentaryfilms.net/index.php/the-unwinking-gaze-the-inside-story-of-the-dalai-lamas-struggle-for-tibet/

So, the Dalai Lama has been and gone. Hardly noticed by the UK although not suprising as his office seemed to have turned down interviews left, right and centre. Even Trevor Macdonald was refused an audience apparently - so it can be of little suprise that his visit passed with so little coverage. Could this be a planned strategy? I don’t think so. Knowing the veneration of their leader and the reluctance of some, naming no names, to embrace the western circus, I suspect that hassle was kept to a minimum and therefore pesky journalists were kept well away. But I can’t help but feel this is unhelpful to their cause. I know he is 72, about to be 73, but the next few weeks represent the greatest and possibly last opportunity to put China on the back foot, and turning down journalists probably means giving their editors the hump, and the story being relegated to the last page. I am not the first and won’t be the last to think that their media strategy needs a bit of foresight and pre-planning to ensure that they have the best chance of achieving their aims. If there was one aim it should be to put the Dalai Lama above politics and give him the best possible platform to articulate his views on the earthquake and his feelings for the Chinese people. I think this was a missed opportunity.

So HHDL is in town…but interesting how the media aren’t really focussing on his visit. Have the earthquakes in China, consumed his cause? The China story is not Tibet anymore but the earthquake, and maybe it has become the ‘Asia story’. Burma seems to have been knocked off the news agenda quite effectively when it seems that there are more than double the fatalities than the earthquake. Interesting how news moves. Anyway the Give Peace a hand event seemed to go quite well, but hardly any reporting on it. Everyone wants to know about Crewe and Nantwich.

Wonderful news. Radiohead have given us permission to use one of their most haunting tracks - haunting even by Thom Yorke’s standards - and it really adds to the overall effect of the film. Check out the new trailer at http://www.theunwinkinggaze.com to see how.

Avaaz.org have come up with an interesting event. They are creating a human chain from the Royal Albert Hall when the Dalai Lama comes to town to give a public talk, all the way to the Chinese Embassy, over 2 miles. The Avaaz petition will be handed over to the Chinese Embassy at around 4.30pm when the human chain reaches its destination.

Check http://www.avaaz.org/en/give_peace_a_hand_london/?cl=89569812 for more info.

Picturehouse Cinemas have now confirmed some of the venues for the screenings of The Unwinking Gaze from the 29th May including:- the Gate Cinema, Notting Hill; The Ritzy, Brixton; Greenwich Picturehouse; Clapham Picturehouse; Cameo Cinema, Edinburgh; Harbour Lights Cinema, Southampton; Little Theatre Cinema, Bath; Phoenix Picturehouse, Oxford; Picturehouse, Exeter; Belmont Picturehouse, Aberdeen; Cinema City, Norwich; and City Screen, York.
Please go to http://www.picturehouses.co.uk for screening times. Please tell everyone you know about these screenings as the more successful the showing, the more impact we will have.

Well, Wednesday was an interesting evening, showing the film in the seat of power in Westminster. It seemed to go well with all MPs present amazed at how we still haven’t got a UK broadcaster. Anyway they have asked for it to be shown again, which may be unprecedented.

Much has happened over the last couple of weeks. Chinese have agreed to meet with the Dalai Lama’s representatives which I am sure they hope will get the world off their back. Interesting how they announced it. Through Xinhua, without having notified the Tibetan side. I wouldn’t say I am an expert in political disputes but I don’t think it is a very good start. Nevertheless contact is better than no contact but it feels a little fishy. There is so much distrust on both sides that little things like the way they announce it really do make a difference.

On youtube, so go check ‘em!

http://www.youtube.com/user/theunwinkinggaze