Forum of Independents - Competition 2004 / Travellers and Magicians / Bhutan 2003
A Buddhist road-movie from contemporary Bhutan directed by a real Buddhist lama (the director of the popular film The Cup) combines ancient legend with a humorous look at today’s world, in a charming and unforgettable way.
Set amid the pristine beauty of the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, our story follows the footsteps of Dondup, a young government officer from the city stationed in a rural outpost. He is convinced that leaving Bhutan for the western world will satisfy all that he craves. When opportunity knocks, it comes with a deadline. Dondup seizes the moment, lies to his senior officer, throws his suitcase out the window and hastily departs — unfortunately a touch too late. He misses his bus and, to his dismay, is left stranded on the road with two other travellers heading in the same direction — a Buddhist monk and a simple apple seller. To pass the night away the monk begins to tell the tale of Tashi, a lazy student of sorcery who also dreams of distant ‘greener pastures’. This buddhist road-movie from contemporary Bhutan, directed by a Buddhist lama (director of the popular film The Cup), combines ancient legend with a humorous look at today’s world, in a charming and unforgettable way.
107 min / Color, 35 mm
Director Khyentse Norbu
/ Screenplay Khyentse Norbu
/ Dir. of Photography Alan Kozlowski
/ Editor John Scott, Lisa Anne Morris
/ Producer Mal Watson
/ Production Prayer Flag Pictures, koprodukce / co-production: Hanway Films
/ Cast Tshewang Dendup, Sonam Lhamo, Lhakpa Dorji
/ Contact HanWay Films
Khyentse Norbu (b. 1961) a.k.a. His Eminence Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche, is one of the most important incarnate lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. Khyentse Norbu was born in a remote area of eastern Bhutan to a family of poets and yogis. He was recognized at the age of seven as the third incarnation of Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo, the non-sectarian saint, scholar and principal lama of Dzongsar Monastery in Tibet. Raised in strict Buddhist monasteries, Norbu’s first encounter with film was as a 19-year-old monk. He continued his Buddhist studies, but his interest in film never wavered. Later on he worked as a consultant on Bernardo Bertolucci’s Little Buddha. Inspired by its producer Jeremy Thomas, he enrolled in a four-week course at the New York Film Academy. In 1999, his first full-length film, The Cup (Phörpa), became an international success. When not making films, he teaches Buddhist philosophy throughout Asia, North and South America, Europe and Australia.
HanWay Films
8 Basing Street, W11 1ET, London
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 207 290 0750
E-mail: [email protected]
Khyentse Norbu
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