Film
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (PG)
Dir. Pawo Choyning Dorji, Bhutan/China, 2019, 109 mins, subtitled. Cast. Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup, Kelden Lhamo Gurung.
Bhutan’s first-ever Oscar® nominee for Best International Feature is an enchanting comedy-drama about a daydreaming (but discontented) young teacher who is posted to a remote school in the country’s picturesque Himalayan highlands.
Ugyen is a disillusioned teacher whose dreams of making it big in Australia as a singer are cut short when he is reassigned to a school in the village of Lunana. There, he finds the yak herding community lacking basic amenities such as electricity or even a blackboard but Ugyen is presented with the chance for a new connection to music, and an unexpected sense of purpose within the community’s embrace.
Shot in staggeringly beautiful locations, balancing gentle humour with life-affirming drama, and performed with easy appeal by largely first-time actors, it’s an irresistibly uplifting tale about the power of a new environment to effect personal transformation.
For detailed information about the film's age rating and potential triggering contents, you can visit the BBFC website and search the film title, then scroll down to the “ratings info” section: www.bbfc.co.uk
There is also a Relaxed Screening of Lunana: a Yak in the Classroom on Saturday 29 April, 2.30pm. Click here for tickets.
Bhutan’s first-ever Oscar® nominee for Best International Feature is an enchanting comedy-drama about a daydreaming (but discontented) young teacher who is posted to a remote school in the country’s picturesque Himalayan highlands.
Ugyen is a disillusioned teacher whose dreams of making it big in Australia as a singer are cut short when he is reassigned to a school in the village of Lunana. There, he finds the yak herding community lacking basic amenities such as electricity or even a blackboard but Ugyen is presented with the chance for a new connection to music, and an unexpected sense of purpose within the community’s embrace.
Shot in staggeringly beautiful locations, balancing gentle humour with life-affirming drama, and performed with easy appeal by largely first-time actors, it’s an irresistibly uplifting tale about the power of a new environment to effect personal transformation.
For detailed information about the film's age rating and potential triggering contents, you can visit the BBFC website and search the film title, then scroll down to the “ratings info” section: www.bbfc.co.uk
There is also a Relaxed Screening of Lunana: a Yak in the Classroom on Saturday 29 April, 2.30pm. Click here for tickets.