Theme Statement｜Love and Romance in Tibet

Love and romance in Tibet are not always dramatic or grand. They are deeply rooted in the rhythms of everyday life — in morning rituals, in a measured pace of living, and in the quiet understanding between people, and between people and nature. They may appear as a glance, a form of companionship, or an unspoken act of care. These moments are formed in silence, sustained through detail, and bound by a profound attachment to land and tradition.

The power of such emotion does not rely on overt expression. It resides instead in cultural continuity and the resilience of lived experience. It does not ask to be defined, only to be seen and recorded with sincerity.

Through this competition, we hope to see works that move beyond surface representations of cultural symbols, and instead engage with genuine encounters between the camera and individual lives. We invite creators to reflect:

Are we constructing truthful narratives, or merely repeating familiar visual habits?

Is the camera a medium for storytelling, or only a tool for capturing images?

We believe that meaningful visual work should honor the agency and dignity of its subjects, evoking not curiosity toward “the other,” but shared human emotions — resonances of love, life, and understanding.

 

Competition Regulations

1. Entries can include single photos or photo series with 4-6 images, in color or black and white, following documentary or creative styles, with no restrictions. Video entries are also accepted, provided they align with the contest theme, without format limitations.

2. Photo entries should be in JPG format, using the sRGB color space, with a maximum width of 1920 pixels and a maximum height of 1080 pixels. Image resolution should be 300 dpi, and file size should not exceed 4MB per image, with a total submission size of 24MB. Video entries should be in MPEG4 format, with a maximum duration of 15 minutes and no minimum duration.

3. Entries must not display any identifying marks, watermarks, names, or signatures of the author.

4. Participants must submit their entries via email as attachments, including the work's title, a brief description, capture date, location, team information, participant's personal details, and contact information in the email body, sent to the official Nerhi Photography and Short Film Competition email address.

To ensure the contest runs smoothly and maintains high-quality submissions, participants are advised to submit entries that comply with the theme and format requirements.

 

Selection Process

A professional jury will conduct an initial review to eliminate entries that do not align with the competition's theme, principles, and goals. The review process will involve participation from NERHI and Zoomsa འཛོམས་ས།, with each party's evaluation comprising 50% of the decision. Based on this, 40–50 selected works will advance to the online voting phase, where the results will contribute 10% to the final evaluation.

 

Announcement of Finalists

The list of finalists will be published on the official platforms of NERHI and Zoomsa འཛོམས་ས།.

 

Copyright Ownership

By participating in the contest, authors grant the organizer the following rights:

1. Publication rights - the right to decide whether to publish the work.

2. Attribution rights - the right to attribute the author's name or pseudonym when the work is used, respecting the author's preferences.

3. Reproduction rights - the right to reproduce the work in various forms.

4. Distribution rights - the right to distribute the original or reproductions to the public through gifting, display, or other non-commercial means. For commercial use or sales, written consent from the author is required, ensuring that all proceeds support the Nerhi Public Welfare Project.

5. Exhibition rights - the right to publicly display original or reproduced works.

6. Projection rights - the right to publicly reproduce visual and audio works through technical equipment.

7. Broadcasting rights - the right to publicly broadcast or transmit works.

8. Information network dissemination rights - the right to provide the work to the public through wired or wireless means.

9. Filming rights - the right to fix works on a carrier through audio-visual methods.

10. Translation rights - the right to translate works from one language to another.