'Sumpa Kingdom' Debuts at Shanghai, Director on
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- 'Sumpa Kingdom' screens in the Belt and Road Film Week sidebar at the 28th Shanghai International Film Festival (running through June 21), adapted from writer Miaolian's novel of the same name.
- Lhapal Gyal directed the dual-timeline drama — one strand set in 1995 following a Nagqu rural doctor who adopts an orphaned Tibetan baby girl, the other in 2024 as the grown woman travels with a wealthy merchant to investigate the ancient Sumpa kingdom.
- Tenzin Tsundue makes his feature debut as guide Baima, a role Lhapal Gyal cast him in without an audition after a meeting in Chengdu, citing the actor's natural presence and immediate consensus.
- Lhapal Gyal said the team preserved the spiritual core of the source novel while reworking character relationships and narrative structure, drawing on firsthand encounters with Xizang's landscapes, customs, and culture.
- Tenzin Tsundue, a former tour guide, said the character is 'half me, half Baima,' emphasizing the distinction between his own identity as a Tibetan and the character he portrays.
- Lhapal Gyal rejected an 'intense romantic entanglement' for the leads, saying 'understated, pure affection fits their characterizations far better.'
- Sonam Wangmo said that despite her limited screen time, filming at the foot of Sapu Sacred Mountain was 'an incredibly romantic experience,' while co-star Joy said she felt honored to express love for her hometown through the film.
Why it matters: The film's selection for a Belt and Road Film Week sidebar at one of Asia's most-watched festivals gives a Tibetan-language drama drawn from local landscapes and customs a high-visibility international platform, while Tenzin Tsundue's no-audition debut signals the director's confidence in casting based on lived cultural presence over conventional screen testing.
