Tsering Rhitar was born in Nepal. He studied in Central School for Tibetans in Mussoorie, and went on to study filmmaking at the Jamia Millia Islamia in Delhi from 1992 to 1993.

In 1994, he spent a year in Dharamsala (India) filming the Dalai Lama and the institutions of the Tibetan government-in-exile. His work includes Tears of Torture, a 27-minute documentary about a Tibetan nun who crossed snow passes and Chinese police checkposts to escape from Tibet on foot.

His 1997 film The Spirit Doesn't Come Anymore, a documentary film profiling an old Tibetan shaman earned him the Best Film Award in FILM SOUTH ASIA - festival of South Asian documentary films, and Best Indigenous Filmmaker of the Year at Parnu Anthropological Film Festival, Estonia.

In 2000, he made Mukundo (Mask of Desire), (1 hour 45 mins) A feature film in Nepali, a co-production of Mila Productions (P) Ltd. and NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation), which was widely shown in International Film Festivals, and was Nepal's Official Entry for Academy Awards (OSCAR) in the Best Foreign Language Film Section in 2000.