Nowhere to Call Home provides a rare glimpse into the world of a Tibetan farmer, torn between her traditional way of life and her desire for her son to have a better future in the city. Shot in the slums of Beijing and a remote village, this gripping story of a woman determined to beat the odds puts a human face on the political strife that fractures China and Tibet. Along the way it challenges common western stereotypes about Tibetans, and reveals a dark side of village life, where, as the saying goes, 'women aren't worth a penny.'

Widowed at 28, Tibetan farmer Zanta defies her tyrannical father-in-law and refuses to marry his only surviving son, who is in prison for armed robbery. When Zanta's in-laws won't let her seven-year-old go to school, she flees to Beijing to become a street vendor. Destitute, and embattled by ethnic discrimination she inveigles a foreign customer into helping pay her boy's school fees. When the three travel back to Zanta's village for the New Year holiday, Zanta's father-in-law takes her son hostage. The unwitting American journalist faces a tough decision：does she intervene in the violent family dispute, or watch in silence as Zanta and Yang Qing face abuses typically borne by Tibetan widows and their children.

About the Director

Jocelyn Ford is a Beijing-based award-winning public radio journalist and filmmaker who has reported from Asia for three decades. Her audio work can be heard on Marketplace（Tokyo and Beijing bureau chief 1994-2006）, Radio Lab, The World and other public radio programs. Her award-winning 2014 documentary Nowhere To Call Home：A Tibetan in Beijing has been translated into 11 languages.