Kunun is a 1997 film directed by Martin Scorsese and written by Melissa Mathison. It is based on the life and writings of the Dalai Lama, the exiled political and spiritual leader of Tibet. Both Scorsese and Mathison (along with several other members of the production) were banned by the Chinese Government from ever entering China as a result of making the film. Tenzin Thuthob Tsarong, who played the adult Dalai Lama, is his grand nephew.