Ulrike Koch (1950 – 30 March 2024) was a German

sinologist Sinology, also referred to as China studies, is a subfield of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on China. It is an academic discipline that focuses on the study of the Chinese civilizatio ...

and film maker. She is known for creating the documentary '' The Saltmen of Tibet''.

Life

Koch was born in

Birkenfeld Birkenfeld () is a town and the district seat of the Birkenfeld (district), Birkenfeld Districts of Germany, district in southwest Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is also the seat of the Birkenfeld (Verbandsgemeinde), like-named ''Verbandsge ...

/Nahe in 1950. She studied sinology at the

University of Zurich The University of Zurich (UZH, ) is a public university, public research university in Zurich, Switzerland. It is the largest university in Switzerland, with its 28,000 enrolled students. It was founded in 1833 from the existing colleges of the ...

and Chinese literature at

Beijing University Peking University (PKU) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of China. The university is part of Project 211, Project 985, and the Double First-Class Construction. It i ...

.Ulrike Koch
Swiss Films, retrieved 26 April 2014 In 1995 she made a film titled '' Qigong: Die Kunst der Stille als Lebenselixier''. Koch made ''The Saltmen of Tibet,'' where the main language is Tibetan. She had already worked on two

Bernardo Bertolucci Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...

films before she set out to make ''The Saltmen of Tibet''. She had studied the culture of Tibet and ethnography and this enabled her to write the script. Her experience of being a casting director on ''

The Last Emperor ''The Last Emperor'' () is a 1987 epic biographical drama film about the life of Puyi, the last Emperor of China. It is directed by Bernardo Bertolucci from a screenplay he co-wrote with Mark Peploe, which was adapted from Puyi's 1964 auto ...

'' and working on ''

Little Buddha ''Little Buddha'' is a 1993 drama film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci, written by Rudy Wurlitzer and Mark Peploe, and produced by usual Bertolucci collaborator Jeremy Thomas. An international co-production of Italy, France and the United Kingd ...

'' was important. Koch had heard of the traders who travelled each year to the salt lakes in Changthang area to gather salt and she managed to get clearance to film in Tibet. The film focuses on recording the traders' journey which has been taking place annually since ancient times. The film suggests that competition from more mechanised approaches may soon end this tradition.Stephen Holden
The Saltmen of Tibet (1997) FILM REVIEW; A Spiritual Trek By Yak Caravan
The New York Times, 22 July 1998, retrieved 26 April 2014 Using mini dv equipment and keeping a low profile, the film crew of four people created the documentary in three months. Later on, the edited images were transferred to 35mm film. The movie was shown in many countries and won many international awards. In 2003 she made a film called ''Ässhäk - Tales from the Sahara'' and in 2011 another titled '' Regilaul - Songs from the Ancient Sea''. Koch died on 30 March 2024.

References

External links

''Regilaul'' official film website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koch, Ulrike 1950 births 2024 deaths People from Birkenfeld (district) German sinologists German documentary filmmakers Film people from Rhineland-Palatinate German women film directors Women documentary filmmakers Women orientalists