Songtaijia was born into an art teacher’s family in the Tibetan region of Amdo, Qinghai Province. He grew up as a nomad, amongst shepherds and herdsmen. After graduating from the Qinghai Normal University with a BA in fine arts, Songtaijia became an art teacher, artist and curator at the Tongde Cultural Museum. Songtaijia’s dream of becoming a filmmaker came true when he received a grant to study at the Beijing Film Academy for two years, majoring in cinematography. He became a prominent member of the first generation of Tibetan filmmakers who started making films in the Tibetan language, having worked on many such productions as art director or cinematographer. Amongst others he regularly collaborated with Pema Tsedan on many of his films such as The Search (2009) and The Silent Holy Stone (2005). Songtaijia was initially inducted into the Academy in 2011 for his nomination as Achievement in Cinematography for his film Old Dog.

Accolades

Songtaijia (Sonthar Gyal) and Yungdrung Gyal
Cultural Diversity Award, 2018

Ala Changso

Cultural Diversity Award, 2018

Ala Changso

Drolma, begins her long pilgrimage to the holy city of Lhasa on foot in spite of her husband Dorje’s opposition to the idea. Dorje trails…

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Sangye and Alexandra Sun and Pema Tseden and Du Qingchun and Songtaijia (Sonthar Gyal)
Best Youth Feature Film, 2015

River (Gtsngbo)

Best Youth Feature Film, 2015

River (Gtsngbo)

Winner, Best Youth Feature Film, 2015 River is a story mostly told from the perspective of Yangchan, a young Tibetan girl from a sheep herding…

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Songtaijia (Sonthar Gyal)
Achievement in Cinematography, 2011

Songtaijia (Sonthar Gyal)

Achievement in Cinematography, 2011

Songtaijia (Sonthar Gyal)

Old Dog (Khyi rgan)

Songtaijia was born into an art teacher’s family in the Tibetan region of Amdo, Qinghai Province. He grew up as a nomad, amongst shepherds and…

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Films

Ala Changso
2018

Ala Changso

People's Republic of China
2018

Ala Changso

Drolma, begins her long pilgrimage to the holy city of Lhasa on foot in spite of her husband Dorje’s opposition to the idea. Dorje trails…

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Old Dog
2011

Old Dog (Khyi rgan)

People's Republic of China
2011

Old Dog (Khyi rgan)

In the late 1990s, somewhere in China’s Tibet Autonomous Region, a Tibetan sheep herder sells his father’s prized Tibetan mastiff to a dealer without his…

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River
2015

River (Gtsngbo)

People's Republic of China
2015

River (Gtsngbo)

Winner, Best Youth Feature Film, 2015 River is a story mostly told from the perspective of Yangchan, a young Tibetan girl from a sheep herding…

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The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.

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