I had watched this film when I was in U.S. and sounded very interesting. Since, I didn't know this part of Tibet that I could not judge it. However, after awhile I found a Tibetan from this region published a review online and the review argues the film misrepresents that region. Maybe, you would like to read that review if you watched the film. I am going to paste the first part of the review and link here:

Khashem Gyal's film, Valley of the Heroes, focuses on language and cultural change on the northeast Tibetan Plateau. I watched the premiere at Qinghai Nationalities University in May 2013, and have since watched it several times. The film has been screened at various venues in the USA and internationally. As a Tibetan from the area Valley of the Heroes focuses on – Hualong Hui Autonomous County[2] – this film is of particular interest to me.

Kashem Gyal's (Mkhar byams rgyal) debut film was made while he was an undergraduate at Qinghai Nationalities University in 2013.[3] The film's promotional materials describe the content:

Valley of the Heroes offers a rare glimpse at a pivotal moment of cultural and linguistic transition among Tibetans and Muslims in Hualong County, a remote community in Amdo, Tibet, part of what is now eastern Qinghai Province, China. Over the past several decades, Tibetans living in Hualong have experienced rapid cultural shifts, accelerated by language loss – today, more than 30% are unable to speak their own native language. The film spends time with an assortment of village residents and elders who reflect on the changes taking place in their community, and also documents a unique Tibetan language program that is attempting to address the situation. Valley of the Heroes serves as both a warning call and glimmer of hope for the future of Tibet.[4]

The film has subtitles in English, Tibetan, and Chinese. Japanese will be added for the DVD release. The subtitles use different colors for Chinese and Tibetan, allowing audiences who do not speak Tibetan or Chinese to appreciate how these languages are used together in everyday conversation.

The film focuses on the complex relations between language, religion, and ethnicity. We meet several elderly Muslims who speak Tibetan fluently, and who claim that they were originally Tibetans who subsequently converted to Islam. The film shows how all local youths now speak only Chinese, or speak Tibetan mixed with Chinese. It also shows a group of Tibetan student-volunteers who teach Tibetan to local children, under difficult physical conditions. The volunteers clearly consider that the Tibetan language and culture will soon disappear from the communities they are working with. Additionally, the film shows several experts (Tsering Thar[5], Gyur me[6], and Tenzin Sangbo) discussing aspects of Hualong's history and culture. Finally, the film depicts gambling, smoking, and drinking alcohol among Tibetans in Hualong.

In terms of the subtitles in different language that indicates the intended audiences are Tibetans in general, people in China, and foreign audiences. And although the film focuses only on two villages, it is clear that it is intended to speak about issues of language and culture endangerment in Tibetan society more broadly.

While appreciating Khashem Gyal's passion for Tibetan language and culture that motivated him to make this film, I disagree with certain aspects of this film, which I wish to discuss here.

I will begin with the poster for the film (see above). The poster shows an elderly man wearing a white skullcap, staring out over a valley from a mountain top. The skullcap tells us he is Muslim and it seems that what he is gazing at is the Valley of the Heroes. I also feel that there is the implication that Muslims are socially and culturally the dominant group in Hualong. This poster makes me uncomfortable, and I assume many other Tibetans from my hometown would feel similarly.

Many aspects of the film misrepresent the reality of Tibetan life in Hualong in a number of significant ways; for example, I disagree with the suggestion that the Chinese term 'Hualong' is derived from the Tibetan 'Dpa' lung' 'Valley of Heroes'. There are no historical records or explanations of this term. The correct Tibetan name for Hualong is Ba yan. There are different perspectives about the term 'Ba yan'. For some, 'Ba' here means 'cows', and it is claimed, in jest, that Ba yan used to have more cows than people, suggesting that it was a poor, backward area. Others suggest that Ba yan is Mongolian meaning 'rich' 'prosperous'.

In recent years, when people ask Hualong Tibetans, "Where are you from?" some answer "I am from the Valley of the Heroes." Some say this to be humorous, and the name 'Valley of the Heroes' sounds impressive, implying that Hualong residents are heroes. Another reason is because of widespread prejudice against Hualong Tibetans by certain A mdo Tibetans since Hualong was designated as an autonomous Hui county in 1931 (Shengkui and Chenggang 1994). Consequently, certain Tibetans consider Hualong to be an area devoid of a Tibetan population: When a Hualong Tibetan says, "I am from Hualong," Tibetans from other counties sometimes ask, "Oh, have you converted to Islam?"

The news genre delivers timely and factual information about current events, developments, and issues of public interest. The primary purpose of news content is to inform the audience about what is happening in the world around them, providing them with essential facts, analysis, and context.

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The Valley of the Heroes tells the story of an extraordinary effort to preserve Tibetan language in Hualong County, a remote Hui (Muslim) community in Amdo, Tibet. Over the past several decades, the Tibetans living there have experienced rapid cultural changes and marginalization -- today, more than 30% are able to speak their own native language. The film spends time with an assortment of village residents and elders, as they reflect on the cultural and linguistic changes taking place in their community. It also documents a unique Tibetan language program attempting to address the situation. As a rare insider account of the situation on the ground, The Valley of the Heroes is both a warning call and flicker of hope for the future of Tibet.

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The Valley of the Heroes

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