UK Premiere: ‘Four Rivers Six Ranges’ – A Gripping Portrait of Tibetan Resistance Comes to the Big Screen

London, 19th June 2025  | Tsering Passang

An extraordinary story of defiance and devotion to a homeland under siege is coming to London for its UK premiere. On Saturday, 21st June, audiences will have the rare opportunity to witness the acclaimed historical drama Four Rivers Six Ranges, an English-language feature film that breathes life into one of the most pivotal, yet underrepresented, chapters of 20th-century Central Asian history – the Tibetan resistance against Communist China’s brutal invasion in the 1950s.

Directed by Shenpenn Khymsar and based on Dorjee Wangdi Dewatshang’s powerful memoir Flight at the Cuckoo’s Behest, the film takes viewers deep into the heart of Kham and Amdo – Tibet’s eastern frontiers – where ordinary civilians rose up in defence of their spiritual leader, the 14th Dalai Lama, and a way of life on the verge of extinction. The title, Four Rivers Six Ranges, evokes the vast and sacred Tibetan landscape – a homeland worth dying for.

This UK premiere offers more than just a film screening – it’s an invitation into the soul of a movement, rooted in faith, survival, and the difficult moral choices faced when nonviolence is shattered by war. With sweeping cinematography filmed in Nepal, Four Rivers Six Ranges paints an emotional, multi-layered portrait of a resistance born not of military training, but of community, desperation, and courage.

First showcased at the prestigious International Film Festival Rotterdam and awarded Best Soundtrack at the 2025 Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, the film is already gaining global acclaim for its artistic direction and emotional depth. For Tibetans and those familiar with their struggle, it marks a long-overdue cinematic reckoning with a silenced past. For new audiences, it serves as a powerful entry point into a story of freedom, identity, and human endurance.

This is not just a film premiere. It’s a moment of truth-telling – and you’re invited.

Four Rivers Six Ranges is currently rated 18+, though an update to 12A or 15 is expected shortly. 

Follow updates via Instagram: @four_rivers_six_ranges_ and @shenpenn_singyetsang

Tickets from from EventBrite