THE MONK AND THE GUN

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Bhutan · 2023 · Drama/Comedy · 107 min. · Dzongkha and English with subtitles in Catalan or Spanish.

Screeening day and time
25 / 10 / 2024 – 20:40 h.- Catalan subtitles
26 / 10 / 2024 – 20:30 h.- Spanish subtitles

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Synopsis

Year 2006. The kingdom of Bhutan is heading towards democracy. In view of the upcoming election, the government organizes voting drill with the idea of preparing the population. Pawo Choyning Dorji explores the situation through different characters: Tashi, a naive but determined monk who is sent by his lama on a strange mission; Benji and Ronald, two clumsy antique smugglers; Yangden, an ambitious bureaucrat who supervises the country’s first voting drill and Tsomo, a village mother who realises the harm politics is doing to her family. This enjoyable, elegant and bittersweet story is enhanced by the splendid natural settings in which it was filmed.

Direction

Pawo Choyning Dorji (June 23, 1983) is a Bhutanese filmmaker and photographer born in India. He debuted as a director with the feature film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2019), nominated for the Oscar for Best Foreign Film in 2022. This film was screened at the first edition of the FCBC.

Dorji started in fimmaking when he met Buddhist teacher and filmmaker Khyentse Norbu in 2006 and worked with him, first as an assistant director on Vara: A Blessing (2013) and then as a producer on Hema Hema (2016). As a photographer, Dorji has contributed to publications such as VICE, Esquire, and Life. He is the author of several essays on photography.

Awards and nominations

TROMSØ INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Winner of the Norwegian Peace Film Award 2024
Nominee to the Aurora Award 2024

FRIBOURG INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Winner of the Audience Award 2024

PALM SPRINGS INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Nominee to the FIPRESCI Prize for Best International Film 2024

VANCOUVER INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL
Winner of the Audience Award 2023

WOODSTOCK FILM FESTIVAL
Honorable mention to Jigme Tenzing from Haskell Wexler Award for Best Cinematography 2023
Honorable mention from Gigantic Pictures Award for Best Feature Narrative 2023

ROME FILM FEST
Winner of the Special Jury Awards 2023

MUMBAI FILM FESTIVAL
Winner of the IMDb Audience Choice Award 2023

ILLUMINATE FILM FESTIVAL
Winner of the Director’s Choice Award 2023

HEBDEN BRIDGE FILM FESTIVAL
Nominee to the DP Square Award for Best Film 2024
Nominee to the Hebden Bridge Film Festival Audience Choice Award for Best Film 2024