Two new Australian films, both enjoying their world premiere, are among the first titles confirmed to play at the Sydney Film Festival in June.
“In Vitro,” a sci-fi mystery thriller set on a remote cattle farm in the near future, hails from directors Will Howarth and Tom McKeith (“Beast”) and stars Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”).
With “The Pool,” director Ian Darling (“The Final Quarter”) paints a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of the iconic Bondi Icebergs, the pool and the people who cherish it.
They will be joined by New Zealand actor Rachel House (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), who makes her feature directorial debut with “The Mountain,” which centers on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. It is executive produced by Taika Waititi and will be eligible for Sydney’s recently announced First Nations Award,...
“In Vitro,” a sci-fi mystery thriller set on a remote cattle farm in the near future, hails from directors Will Howarth and Tom McKeith (“Beast”) and stars Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”).
With “The Pool,” director Ian Darling (“The Final Quarter”) paints a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of the iconic Bondi Icebergs, the pool and the people who cherish it.
They will be joined by New Zealand actor Rachel House (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), who makes her feature directorial debut with “The Mountain,” which centers on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. It is executive produced by Taika Waititi and will be eligible for Sydney’s recently announced First Nations Award,...
- 4/2/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Remember we used to live in a society where women were not allowed to study or vote for the government? It took us a while to get on board with the idea that women should have equal rights. Imagine it’s 2006 in Bhutan, and the entire South Asian country is buzzing with excitement and nervousness because they’re about to vote for the first time ever! The King just gave them the gift of choosing their own leader. But hold up, this is a big deal because the Bhutanese people have always been used to serving under the King’s reign and living peacefully in their cozy little kingdom. In this period of modernization, the prospect of choosing their own leaders seems unfamiliar and unnecessary to many. Amidst these uncertainties, there is a Lama who wants a gun before Full Moon night, probably to “set things right” before this voting happens.
- 3/23/2024
- by Sutanuka Banerjee
- Film Fugitives
Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
After Blue (Bertrand Mandico)
In the post-apocalyptic nightmare of After Blue, humanity—or what’s left of it—roams a former paradise turned wasteland. The Armageddon that wrecked the Earth in some undetermined past left no machines behind, no screens, and, perhaps most conspicuously, no men. In the distant planet the human race fled to, and which writer-director Bertrand Mandico’s film is named after, “they were the first to die,” we’re warned early on: “their hairs grew inside them, and killed them.” As it was for its predecessor, The Wild Boys, After Blue is suffused in a feverish ecstasy, that wild excitement that comes from a watching one world crumble and another jutting into being from scratch, a vision of...
After Blue (Bertrand Mandico)
In the post-apocalyptic nightmare of After Blue, humanity—or what’s left of it—roams a former paradise turned wasteland. The Armageddon that wrecked the Earth in some undetermined past left no machines behind, no screens, and, perhaps most conspicuously, no men. In the distant planet the human race fled to, and which writer-director Bertrand Mandico’s film is named after, “they were the first to die,” we’re warned early on: “their hairs grew inside them, and killed them.” As it was for its predecessor, The Wild Boys, After Blue is suffused in a feverish ecstasy, that wild excitement that comes from a watching one world crumble and another jutting into being from scratch, a vision of...
- 3/22/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Pawo Choyning Dorji behind the scenes of The Monk and the Gun. All images courtesy of Roadside Attractions
by Chad Kennerk
His name means ‘the brave one’. It’s a fitting description for the youngest recipient of Bhutan's highest civilian award, The Druk Thuksey (The Heart Son of the Thunder Dragon). The son of a diplomat and a student of the world, Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji has lived in places as varied as the Middle East, Switzerland, India, and Appleton, Wisconsin, where he received his degree in Political Science. Dorji began his career as a photographer, telling stories through pictures. His love of photography and writing eventually took a natural evolution into moving pictures.
Through his work as a filmmaker and photographer, Dorji is on a mission to share Bhutan and Bhutanese culture with the world. His directorial debut, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, captured worldwide attention. The...
by Chad Kennerk
His name means ‘the brave one’. It’s a fitting description for the youngest recipient of Bhutan's highest civilian award, The Druk Thuksey (The Heart Son of the Thunder Dragon). The son of a diplomat and a student of the world, Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji has lived in places as varied as the Middle East, Switzerland, India, and Appleton, Wisconsin, where he received his degree in Political Science. Dorji began his career as a photographer, telling stories through pictures. His love of photography and writing eventually took a natural evolution into moving pictures.
Through his work as a filmmaker and photographer, Dorji is on a mission to share Bhutan and Bhutanese culture with the world. His directorial debut, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, captured worldwide attention. The...
- 2/10/2024
- by Chad Kennerk
- Film Review Daily
There is very little written in the English language about the cinema of Bhutan, with only the broadest overviews of this still-emerging industry to be found at a glance. Not producing its first feature until the 1990s––and not producing one shot entirely within its borders until 2003––means that Bhutanese cinema is still finding a distinct voice. The biggest hits from this era have barely been seen outside the country for this reason; many were direct remakes of films from neighboring India, with any original efforts hampered by an overreliance on copying a perceived Bollywood “formula.”
Like most Western viewers, I don’t have any direct experience of Bhutanese films beyond the work of the country’s leading filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose 2019 debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom quite literally put the cinema of his homeland on the map following its surprise Oscar nomination. However, a brief overview...
Like most Western viewers, I don’t have any direct experience of Bhutanese films beyond the work of the country’s leading filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose 2019 debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom quite literally put the cinema of his homeland on the map following its surprise Oscar nomination. However, a brief overview...
- 2/7/2024
- by Alistair Ryder
- The Film Stage
After his first success “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” Oscar nominee Pawo Choyning Dorji's second feature-length fiction film is a likable, if not overwhelming, comedy. While his directorial debut was nominated for Best International Feature Film at the 2021 Academy Awards, the first Bhutanese movie to be so recognized, Dorji's second production is also making its way around the world, including being nominated for the next Academy Awards in the Best Foreign Film category.
The Monk and the Gun is currently screening on cinemas, courtesy of Roadside Attractions
Kingdom of Bhutan, 2006. Bhutan becomes the last country in the world to connect to the Internet and television, and now the biggest change of all: democracy. To teach the people how to vote, the authorities organize a mock election in which the locals show their inexperience and lack of conviction. Traveling to rural Bhutan, where religion is more popular than politics,...
The Monk and the Gun is currently screening on cinemas, courtesy of Roadside Attractions
Kingdom of Bhutan, 2006. Bhutan becomes the last country in the world to connect to the Internet and television, and now the biggest change of all: democracy. To teach the people how to vote, the authorities organize a mock election in which the locals show their inexperience and lack of conviction. Traveling to rural Bhutan, where religion is more popular than politics,...
- 2/7/2024
- by Hugo Hamon
- AsianMoviePulse
Bhutanese writer-director Pawo Choyning Dorji’s second feature, The Monk and the Gun, begins with a crackling radio broadcast. It’s 2006, but as it’s only been seven years since the Kingdom of Bhutan lifted its ban on television and internet, this is still the most efficient way to bring information to the masses. The broadcast itself informs the people of a bold new form of modernity that’s about to arrive in the country: democracy.
The main plot of The Monk and the Gun concerns the old lama (Kelsang Choejay) of a small village named Ura. He seems disturbed by the news that the king will be stepping down, so as to cede power to the people, and asks his young disciple, Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk), to help him with a ritual that will “make things right.” He won’t say what this ritual is—only that it must take...
The main plot of The Monk and the Gun concerns the old lama (Kelsang Choejay) of a small village named Ura. He seems disturbed by the news that the king will be stepping down, so as to cede power to the people, and asks his young disciple, Tashi (Tandin Wangchuk), to help him with a ritual that will “make things right.” He won’t say what this ritual is—only that it must take...
- 2/4/2024
- by Ross McIndoe
- Slant Magazine
If you’ve read this month’s preview earlier this week, you already know there are two very different wide releases this weekend. Read on for Gold Derby’s box office preview.
First up, there’s the new Matthew Vaughn spy action-comedy “Argylle,” based on a recently released book by one Elly Conway, presumed to be a pseudonym for another famous author, who sold the rights to Vaughn to make this movie even before the book’s release just a few weeks back.
Going by the trailer, there’s a bit of a mystery in the book and movie surrounding the identity of the film’s titular secret agent, but Vaughn has another stacked cast, including Bryce Dallas Howard as “Conway” with Henry Cavill playing “Argylle,” and the likes of Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Sofia Boutella and even pop star Dua Lipa. The...
First up, there’s the new Matthew Vaughn spy action-comedy “Argylle,” based on a recently released book by one Elly Conway, presumed to be a pseudonym for another famous author, who sold the rights to Vaughn to make this movie even before the book’s release just a few weeks back.
Going by the trailer, there’s a bit of a mystery in the book and movie surrounding the identity of the film’s titular secret agent, but Vaughn has another stacked cast, including Bryce Dallas Howard as “Conway” with Henry Cavill playing “Argylle,” and the likes of Sam Rockwell, Bryan Cranston, Samuel L. Jackson, Catherine O’Hara, John Cena, Sofia Boutella and even pop star Dua Lipa. The...
- 2/1/2024
- by Edward Douglas
- Gold Derby
After the cinematic doldrums of January, February brings surprisingly packed, varied offerings, from Oscar-contending international features to biographical documentaries of legendary film artists to some electrifying genre outings. Check out my picks to see below, and catch up with our Sundance coverage ahead of our Berlinale reviews here.
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
16. The Monk and the Gun (Pawo Choyning Dorji; Feb. 9)
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim and will now be released this month. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the heartwarming film is about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as the country’s launching a democracy.
15. Ennio (Giuseppe Tornatore; Feb. 9)
The film world lost perhaps its most legendary musician when Ennio Morricone died at the age of 91 in July 2020. Cinema Paradiso director Giuseppe Tornatore,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
This year’s Palm Springs Film Festival saw not one but two international feature panel discussions hosted by The Hollywood Reporter. The first, moderated by THR’s own Kevin Cassidy, highlighted some of the most exciting non-English-language films of the year.
Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano is Italy’s submission for the Oscar this year and follows two boys on a fairytale-like adventure across continents. The Monk and the Gun, Bhutan’s official selection, is directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji and tells the story of an American treasure hunter who crosses paths with a monk in the Bhutanese mountains. Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, from Asmae El Moudir, sees the director imaginatively exploring her own family history in tandem with the history of her nation via clay figurines standing in for the real people in her life, who also appear onscreen.
J.A. Bayona helms Society of the Snow,...
Matteo Garrone’s Io Capitano is Italy’s submission for the Oscar this year and follows two boys on a fairytale-like adventure across continents. The Monk and the Gun, Bhutan’s official selection, is directed by Pawo Choyning Dorji and tells the story of an American treasure hunter who crosses paths with a monk in the Bhutanese mountains. Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, from Asmae El Moudir, sees the director imaginatively exploring her own family history in tandem with the history of her nation via clay figurines standing in for the real people in her life, who also appear onscreen.
J.A. Bayona helms Society of the Snow,...
- 1/23/2024
- by Hilton Dresden
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Benjamin Ree’s gamer documentary Ibelin led the winners at Tromso International Film Festival (TIFF) on Saturday, January 20; after Norwegian feature Grandmonster took the Fiction Norway pitching prize last week.
Ibelin took the audience award, playing at Tromso the day after its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. The Norwegian title follows the story of Mats Steen, a gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease aged 25; after which his parents began to receive messages from online friends around the world. Netflix acquired US distribution and worldwide streaming rights on the title following its Sundance premiere.
Scroll down for the...
Ibelin took the audience award, playing at Tromso the day after its world premiere at Sundance Film Festival. The Norwegian title follows the story of Mats Steen, a gamer who died of a degenerative muscular disease aged 25; after which his parents began to receive messages from online friends around the world. Netflix acquired US distribution and worldwide streaming rights on the title following its Sundance premiere.
Scroll down for the...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
As awards season switches up a gear, with the handing out of the Golden Globes and the publication of the Bafta shortlists, one major title stands out in the International categories of both: Justine Triet’s Palme d’Or winning courtroom drama Anatomy of a Fall. It would be a reasonable bet for the Oscar win in any year — if it were actually eligible. In lieu of Triet’s film, which fell well within Academy rules in terms of the amount of English spoken, the French selection panel opted instead for period gourmet drama The Taste of Things to do battle for the country’s honor, a move that is sure to cause a lot of confusion in the coming weeks.
Otherwise, the release of the international shortlist came with very few surprises this year, but perhaps chief among them was an unexpected snub for the Palestinian entry Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soulem.
Otherwise, the release of the international shortlist came with very few surprises this year, but perhaps chief among them was an unexpected snub for the Palestinian entry Bye Bye Tiberias by Lina Soulem.
- 1/11/2024
- by Damon Wise
- Deadline Film + TV
Want to know which international features vying for Oscar gold are worth watching?
Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the best international feature film category. Those Oscar contenders include “The Zone of Interest,” a United Kingdom-backed look at the Holocaust that’s received rave reviews, as well as searing dramas such as “Io Capitano,” Italy’s entry about two Senegalese migrants, and “Four Daughters,” a mixture of narrative and documentary from Tunisia.
Here are reviews of all of the movies eligible for the Oscar for Best International Feature.
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) — Director Mstyslav Chernov and other AP journos document Russian Federation forces...
Variety‘s team of critics has been on the ground at Cannes, Berlin, Venice, Toronto and other major film festivals, on the hunt for the best of the best. In December, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences unveiled its shortlist of 15 films eligible for the second round of voting in the best international feature film category. Those Oscar contenders include “The Zone of Interest,” a United Kingdom-backed look at the Holocaust that’s received rave reviews, as well as searing dramas such as “Io Capitano,” Italy’s entry about two Senegalese migrants, and “Four Daughters,” a mixture of narrative and documentary from Tunisia.
Here are reviews of all of the movies eligible for the Oscar for Best International Feature.
20 Days in Mariupol (Ukraine) — Director Mstyslav Chernov and other AP journos document Russian Federation forces...
- 1/5/2024
- by Variety Staff
- Variety Film + TV
The shortlist of 15 films set to vie for a Best International Feature Film Oscar nomination only has a few surprises in the mix.
Firstly, there are a couple of crossovers with films also included on the documentary shortlist: Ukraine’s 20 Days in Mariupol and Tunisia’s Four Daughters. At the same time, Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, also eligible in documentary, landed a shortlist slot only in International Feature.
For Ukraine, this is the first inclusion on an International Feature shortlist. For a narrative feature, same goes for Armenia with Michael A. Goorjian’s Amerikatsi.
Bhutan, here with The Monk and the Gun, is a comer. After landing the country’s first advancement in 2021 with Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, director Pawo Choyning Dorji is again in the mix.
Related: Oscar Doc Shortlist Scores & Shockers: ‘American Symphony Earns Trifecta, But Two Doc Legends Snubbed
A surprise here is Iceland’s Godland,...
Firstly, there are a couple of crossovers with films also included on the documentary shortlist: Ukraine’s 20 Days in Mariupol and Tunisia’s Four Daughters. At the same time, Morocco’s The Mother of All Lies, also eligible in documentary, landed a shortlist slot only in International Feature.
For Ukraine, this is the first inclusion on an International Feature shortlist. For a narrative feature, same goes for Armenia with Michael A. Goorjian’s Amerikatsi.
Bhutan, here with The Monk and the Gun, is a comer. After landing the country’s first advancement in 2021 with Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, director Pawo Choyning Dorji is again in the mix.
Related: Oscar Doc Shortlist Scores & Shockers: ‘American Symphony Earns Trifecta, But Two Doc Legends Snubbed
A surprise here is Iceland’s Godland,...
- 12/21/2023
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline Film + TV
With the 2024 Oscars shortlists for 10 categories arriving in late December, one key element to look out for is the international contenders with the legs to make it into categories past Best International Feature Film. This time last year, Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” established itself as a possible Best Picture nominee with multiple craft mentions, and by the March ceremony, the Edward Berger film collected the majority of Academy Awards given to below-the-line artisans.
This year, lightning may strike twice, as established Hollywood filmmaker J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow” (Netflix), Spain’s official submission for Best International Feature Film, landed on four shortlists. A last-minute premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the moving retelling of the harrowing story of how the Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the Andes in 1972 has been building momentum as a must-watch among voters this holiday season.
Still...
This year, lightning may strike twice, as established Hollywood filmmaker J.A. Bayona’s “Society of the Snow” (Netflix), Spain’s official submission for Best International Feature Film, landed on four shortlists. A last-minute premiere at the Venice Film Festival, the moving retelling of the harrowing story of how the Uruguayan rugby team survived a plane crash in the Andes in 1972 has been building momentum as a must-watch among voters this holiday season.
Still...
- 12/21/2023
- by Marcus Jones and Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Shortlists announced in 10 categories for 96th Academy Awards.
The Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Oscars in March 2024, with The Taste Of Things (France), Fallen Leaves (Finland), The Zone Of Interest (UK), Totem (Mexico), and Amerikatsi, Armenia’s first entry on the shortlist, among those making the cut in the international feature film category.
The international contest also sees Pawo Choyning Dorji’s drama The Monk And The Gun becomes Bhutan’s second film to make the shortlist after his Oscar nominee Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom from two seasons ago.
A strong showing by European...
The Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Oscars in March 2024, with The Taste Of Things (France), Fallen Leaves (Finland), The Zone Of Interest (UK), Totem (Mexico), and Amerikatsi, Armenia’s first entry on the shortlist, among those making the cut in the international feature film category.
The international contest also sees Pawo Choyning Dorji’s drama The Monk And The Gun becomes Bhutan’s second film to make the shortlist after his Oscar nominee Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom from two seasons ago.
A strong showing by European...
- 12/21/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Shortlists announced in 10 categories for 96th Academy Awards.
The Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Oscars in March 2024, with The Taste Of Things (France), Fallen Leaves (Finland), The Zone Of Interest (UK), Totem (Mexico), and for the first time Armenia (Amerikatsi) among those making the cut in the international feature film category.
The international contest also sees Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Bhutanese drama The Monk And The Gun become the country’s second film to make the shortlist after his Oscar nominee from two seasons ago.
A strong showing by European films besides the aforementioned comprises J.A. Bayona...
The Academy has announced shortlists in 10 categories for the 96th Oscars in March 2024, with The Taste Of Things (France), Fallen Leaves (Finland), The Zone Of Interest (UK), Totem (Mexico), and for the first time Armenia (Amerikatsi) among those making the cut in the international feature film category.
The international contest also sees Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Bhutanese drama The Monk And The Gun become the country’s second film to make the shortlist after his Oscar nominee from two seasons ago.
A strong showing by European films besides the aforementioned comprises J.A. Bayona...
- 12/21/2023
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Wim Wenders' Perfect Days has made the 96th Academy Awards Oscar Best International Feature Film shortlist Photo: Anne Katrin Titze
From Tunisia, Four Daughters (Les Filles d'Olfa), Kaouther Ben Hania director; United Kingdom, The Zone Of Interest, Jonathan Glazer director; Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov director; Italy, Io Capitano, Matteo Garrone director; Japan, Perfect Days, Wim Wenders director; France, The Taste Of Things, Trần Anh Hùng director; Armenia, Amerikatsi, Michael A Goorjian, director; Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge, llker Çatak, director; Finland, Fallen Leaves, Aki Kaurismäki director; Spain, The Delinquents, Rodrigo Moreno director; Mexico, Tótem, Lila Avilés, director; Denmark, The Promised Land, Nikolaj Arcel, director; Morocco, The Mother of All Lies, Asmae El Moudir, director; Spain, Society Of The Snow, Ja Bayona, director; Iceland, Godland, Hlynur Pálmason; and Bhutan, The Monk And The Gun, Pawo Choyning Dorji director are the 15 films selected for the International Feature Film shortlist.
Kaouther...
From Tunisia, Four Daughters (Les Filles d'Olfa), Kaouther Ben Hania director; United Kingdom, The Zone Of Interest, Jonathan Glazer director; Ukraine, 20 Days In Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov director; Italy, Io Capitano, Matteo Garrone director; Japan, Perfect Days, Wim Wenders director; France, The Taste Of Things, Trần Anh Hùng director; Armenia, Amerikatsi, Michael A Goorjian, director; Germany, The Teachers’ Lounge, llker Çatak, director; Finland, Fallen Leaves, Aki Kaurismäki director; Spain, The Delinquents, Rodrigo Moreno director; Mexico, Tótem, Lila Avilés, director; Denmark, The Promised Land, Nikolaj Arcel, director; Morocco, The Mother of All Lies, Asmae El Moudir, director; Spain, Society Of The Snow, Ja Bayona, director; Iceland, Godland, Hlynur Pálmason; and Bhutan, The Monk And The Gun, Pawo Choyning Dorji director are the 15 films selected for the International Feature Film shortlist.
Kaouther...
- 12/21/2023
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
A range of subjects, ranging from hot button to mystical, await Academy voters considering the contenders from South Asia in the international feature category.
The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses the first elections in one of the world’s youngest democracies to comment on what is lost as his country modernizes. The Variety critics pick, following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, sold to a raft of major territories worldwide, including Roadside Attractions in the U.S.
Another South Asian feature in the Oscar race that’s striking a high profile is Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames,” Pakistan’s entry to the category. The film debuted at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, kicking off a stellar festival run including Toronto,...
The most visible film from the region is certainly Bhutan’s “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to the Oscar-nominated “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” In the film, Dorji uses the first elections in one of the world’s youngest democracies to comment on what is lost as his country modernizes. The Variety critics pick, following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, sold to a raft of major territories worldwide, including Roadside Attractions in the U.S.
Another South Asian feature in the Oscar race that’s striking a high profile is Pakistani-Canadian filmmaker Zarrar Kahn’s “In Flames,” Pakistan’s entry to the category. The film debuted at the Cannes Directors’ Fortnight, kicking off a stellar festival run including Toronto,...
- 12/12/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Every year since its creation in 1956, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) invites the film industries of various countries to submit their best film for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. The category was previously called the Best Foreign Language Film, but this was changed in April 2019 to Best International Feature Film, after the Academy deemed the word “Foreign” to be outdated.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
The award is presented annually by the Academy to a feature-length motion picture produced outside the United States that contains primarily non-English dialogue. For the 96th Academy Awards, the submitted motion pictures must be first released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline for submissions to the Academy was October 2, 2023, and 92 countries submitted a film. The 15-film shortlist will be announced on December 21, 2023, followed by the official nominations on January 23, 2024.
Here are this edition's Asian Submissions for Best International Feature Film.
- 12/11/2023
- by Adriana Rosati
- AsianMoviePulse
With awards season around the corner, it’s time for countries to select the Best International Feature Film for the Oscars. Bhutan’s pick? Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s “The Monk And The Gun,” which had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival earlier this year. Haven’t heard of that, or don’t think it will make the cut in nominations? Not so fast. Dorji’s previous film, 2019’s “Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom” was nominated for the Oscar that year.
Continue reading ‘The Monk And The Gun’ Trailer: Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Telluride Favorite & Oscar Hopeful Hits Theaters On February 2 at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Monk And The Gun’ Trailer: Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Telluride Favorite & Oscar Hopeful Hits Theaters On February 2 at The Playlist.
- 12/8/2023
- by Ned Booth
- The Playlist
Returning after his Oscar-nominated directorial debut Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s Ifsn Advocate Award-shortlisted The Monk and the Gun premiered at Telluride and TIFF to much acclaim. Selected by Bhutan as their Oscar entry, the film about an American in search of a long-lost, vintage gun in Bhutan as they are in the midst of launching a democracy will open on February 2 and now the first trailer has arrived.
Here’s the synopsis: “The Monk and The Gun captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraordinary beauty and its emphasis on Gross National Happiness, the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan was the last nation to connect to the internet and television. And if that weren’t enough change, the King announced shortly afterwards that he would cede his power to the...
Here’s the synopsis: “The Monk and The Gun captures the wonder and disruption as Bhutan becomes one of the world’s youngest democracies. Known throughout the world for its extraordinary beauty and its emphasis on Gross National Happiness, the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan was the last nation to connect to the internet and television. And if that weren’t enough change, the King announced shortly afterwards that he would cede his power to the...
- 12/8/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"Why would a monk take our gun?" Roadside Attr. has unveiled the US trailer for the exceptional new film The Monk and The Gun made in the remote mountainous country of Bhutan by Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji (who was already nominated for an Oscar for his last film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom). This premiered at the 2023 Telluride & Toronto Film Festivals and is also Bhutan's submission to the Oscars this year, of course. I had a chance to see the film and Loved it. An elderly lama, recognizing that extraordinary change is about to sweep through his country as they are introducing democratic voting, is troubled by the possible outcomes. He instructs his young disciple Tashi to set forth into the kingdom and bring him two guns before the full moon to "set it right." His quest brings him into contact with a scheming American gun collector Ron,...
- 12/7/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
When Pawo Choyning Dorji launched his filmmaking career with 2021’s Oscar-nominated hit “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” his ability to capture the nuances of life in Bhutan was instantly apparent. His sophomore feature, “The Monk and the Gun,” continues his artistic exploration of the evolving South Asian nation.
The film takes place in 2008 during the run-up to Bhutan’s first democratic elections, following the residents of a small Bhutanese village as the unstoppable wave of Western pop culture and values begins to wash over the residents’ lives. As villagers are taught how to vote, a lama asks one of his monks to bring him a rare antique rifle at the same time that a wealthy American gun collector attempts to purchase it. The film becomes a timely call to use nonviolence as a cornerstone when building a new form of government.
While the success of “Lunana” opened doors for...
The film takes place in 2008 during the run-up to Bhutan’s first democratic elections, following the residents of a small Bhutanese village as the unstoppable wave of Western pop culture and values begins to wash over the residents’ lives. As villagers are taught how to vote, a lama asks one of his monks to bring him a rare antique rifle at the same time that a wealthy American gun collector attempts to purchase it. The film becomes a timely call to use nonviolence as a cornerstone when building a new form of government.
While the success of “Lunana” opened doors for...
- 12/7/2023
- by Christian Zilko
- Indiewire
Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk and the Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom,” has been acquired by more distributors in key territories.
Rolling off premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, the crowdpleaser has been acquired by Mfa+ Distribution, Edko Films (Hong Kong, Macau), Officine Ubu (Italy) and Maxam Inc. (Japan). The film is represented by Films Boutique in international markets. The movie was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America.
Previous deals were scored with Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).
“The Monk and the Gun” is set in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2006. Modernization has finally...
Rolling off premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, the crowdpleaser has been acquired by Mfa+ Distribution, Edko Films (Hong Kong, Macau), Officine Ubu (Italy) and Maxam Inc. (Japan). The film is represented by Films Boutique in international markets. The movie was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America.
Previous deals were scored with Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).
“The Monk and the Gun” is set in the Kingdom of Bhutan in 2006. Modernization has finally...
- 12/1/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Bhutanese director-writer Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose film ‘The Monk and The Gun’ is the official submission for the Oscars from Bhutan, has said that the film is a celebration of innocence.
Pawo, who recently attended the Mami Mumbai Film Festival, also mentioned that the film is a reflection of the Bhutanese culture which suddenly opened up overnight to the rest of the world, which resulted in the western nations implying that innocence is ignorance but the film makes a clear demarcation between innocence and ignorance.
The director said: “‘The Monk and The Gun’ is a celebration of the quality of innocence. A lot of the audiences when viewing the film get the feeling that it is a story of innocence which is synonymous with Bhutanese culture. It is a very foundational quality of our tradition and culture. When we as a country and as a culture opened up to the outside world overnight,...
Pawo, who recently attended the Mami Mumbai Film Festival, also mentioned that the film is a reflection of the Bhutanese culture which suddenly opened up overnight to the rest of the world, which resulted in the western nations implying that innocence is ignorance but the film makes a clear demarcation between innocence and ignorance.
The director said: “‘The Monk and The Gun’ is a celebration of the quality of innocence. A lot of the audiences when viewing the film get the feeling that it is a story of innocence which is synonymous with Bhutanese culture. It is a very foundational quality of our tradition and culture. When we as a country and as a culture opened up to the outside world overnight,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Agency News Desk
Bhutanese director-writer Pawo Choyning Dorji, whose film ‘The Monk and The Gun’ is the official submission for the Oscars from Bhutan, has said that the film is a celebration of innocence.
Pawo, who recently attended the Mami Mumbai Film Festival, also mentioned that the film is a reflection of the Bhutanese culture which suddenly opened up overnight to the rest of the world, which resulted in the western nations implying that innocence is ignorance but the film makes a clear demarcation between innocence and ignorance.
The director said: “‘The Monk and The Gun’ is a celebration of the quality of innocence. A lot of the audiences when viewing the film get the feeling that it is a story of innocence which is synonymous with Bhutanese culture. It is a very foundational quality of our tradition and culture. When we as a country and as a culture opened up to the outside world overnight,...
Pawo, who recently attended the Mami Mumbai Film Festival, also mentioned that the film is a reflection of the Bhutanese culture which suddenly opened up overnight to the rest of the world, which resulted in the western nations implying that innocence is ignorance but the film makes a clear demarcation between innocence and ignorance.
The director said: “‘The Monk and The Gun’ is a celebration of the quality of innocence. A lot of the audiences when viewing the film get the feeling that it is a story of innocence which is synonymous with Bhutanese culture. It is a very foundational quality of our tradition and culture. When we as a country and as a culture opened up to the outside world overnight,...
- 11/20/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
As part of Indie Film Site Network (Ifsn), we’re thrilled to announce D. Smith’s vibrant directorial debut Kokomo City as the recipient of the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award. The recipient of the award, established to highlight one indie film each year that illuminates a humanitarian or environmental issue with a singular artistic vision, is awarded one million (1M) media impressions across the Indie Film Site Network, which represents The Film Stage, Hammer to Nail, Ioncinema.com, RogerEbert.com, and Screen Anarchy. Letterboxd, the popular social network for cinephiles, is also contributing to the award.
Finalists for the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award are Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun, Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies, and Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice, which will each be awarded 100K media impressions across Ifsn.
In the wildly...
Finalists for the 2023 Ifsn Advocate Award are Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, Pawo Choyning Dorji’s The Monk and the Gun, Asmae El Moudir’s The Mother of All Lies, and Luke Lorentzen’s A Still Small Voice, which will each be awarded 100K media impressions across Ifsn.
In the wildly...
- 11/16/2023
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
“Auto-bio Pamphlet,” a Marathi-language film that is both a love story and a rage against class divisions, will open the 18th edition of the Jogja-netpac Asian Film Festival later this month. The festival will close with the world premiere of spy thriller “13 Bombs in Jakarta.”
Jaff run Nov. 25 – Dec. 2 and include 205 films from 25 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific.
Directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, “13 Bombs in Jakarta” (aka “13 Bom di Jakarta”) tells of a group of terrorists who launch their attack with the threat of bombs scattered throughout the Indonesian capital. Sasongko is also the founder of local studio Visenema, which has four films at the festival.
“As the opening film for this year’s edition, we choose something light-hearted, which is ‘Autobio Pamphlet’ from India. Its coming-of-age story will be perfect to set the festival’s spirited and entertaining mood,” said Alexander Matius, Jaff program director. The film had...
Jaff run Nov. 25 – Dec. 2 and include 205 films from 25 countries and territories across Asia-Pacific.
Directed by Angga Dwimas Sasongko, “13 Bombs in Jakarta” (aka “13 Bom di Jakarta”) tells of a group of terrorists who launch their attack with the threat of bombs scattered throughout the Indonesian capital. Sasongko is also the founder of local studio Visenema, which has four films at the festival.
“As the opening film for this year’s edition, we choose something light-hearted, which is ‘Autobio Pamphlet’ from India. Its coming-of-age story will be perfect to set the festival’s spirited and entertaining mood,” said Alexander Matius, Jaff program director. The film had...
- 11/11/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
The submissions for this year’s Oscar for best international feature include some of the best of world cinema. Below is a rundown of the entries for the 96th Academy Awards. The 15-title shortlist is slated to arrive on Dec. 21, prior to the nominations announcement on Jan. 23 and the ceremony itself, which is dated for March 10.
Albania
Alexander
Director: Ardit Sadiku
Logline: A documentary about an engineer who, after being fired by the navy for dissidence, hijacked a warship to get himself an dhis family to freedom.
Prodco: Ardit Sadiku Film
Argentina
The Delinquents
Director: Rodrigo Moreno
Logline: A ticklish, gently surreal saga following two colleagues who collude in robbing the bank where they work.
U.S. distribution: Mubi
Armenia
Amerikatsi
Director: Michael A. Goorjian
Logline: An Armenian-American relocates to Armenia after WWII and ends up in a Soviet prison for the crime of wearing a tie.
U.S.
Albania
Alexander
Director: Ardit Sadiku
Logline: A documentary about an engineer who, after being fired by the navy for dissidence, hijacked a warship to get himself an dhis family to freedom.
Prodco: Ardit Sadiku Film
Argentina
The Delinquents
Director: Rodrigo Moreno
Logline: A ticklish, gently surreal saga following two colleagues who collude in robbing the bank where they work.
U.S. distribution: Mubi
Armenia
Amerikatsi
Director: Michael A. Goorjian
Logline: An Armenian-American relocates to Armenia after WWII and ends up in a Soviet prison for the crime of wearing a tie.
U.S.
- 11/7/2023
- by Jessica Kiang
- Variety Film + TV
Bhutan-set political satire ’The Monk And The Gun’ takes festival’s audience award
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide has won the top prize, the Golden Gateway Award, at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival.
The documentary, which world premiered at Sundance, follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means.
Lockdown drama Bahadur - The Brave by Diwa Shah, which played in San Sebastian’s New Directors strand this year, won the Silver Gateway Award.
Kanu Behl’s drama Agra, which world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year, won the special jury award.
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide has won the top prize, the Golden Gateway Award, at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival.
The documentary, which world premiered at Sundance, follows two fishers and friends from Mumbai’s Koli community pursuing their livelihoods by different means.
Lockdown drama Bahadur - The Brave by Diwa Shah, which played in San Sebastian’s New Directors strand this year, won the Silver Gateway Award.
Kanu Behl’s drama Agra, which world premiered in Cannes Directors’ Fortnight this year, won the special jury award.
- 11/6/2023
- by Tim Dams
- ScreenDaily
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary Against The Tide won the Golden Gateway Award at this year’s Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival, while the Silver Gateway Award went to Bahadur – The Brave, directed by Diwa Shah. The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s Agra.
Against The Tide follows two fishermen struggling to provide for their families as the sea turns hostile due to climate change. Bahadur – The Brave revolves around Nepalese migrant laborers during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in India.
Agra, which had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes film festival, is the story of young Indian man attempting to navigate cramped living conditions, sexual repression and a dysfunctional family to create his own space in the world.
The South Asia Competition jury was headed by Mira Nair and also included Australian filmmaker David Michod, Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval...
Against The Tide follows two fishermen struggling to provide for their families as the sea turns hostile due to climate change. Bahadur – The Brave revolves around Nepalese migrant laborers during the lockdown imposed due to the coronavirus pandemic in India.
Agra, which had its world premiere at this year’s Cannes film festival, is the story of young Indian man attempting to navigate cramped living conditions, sexual repression and a dysfunctional family to create his own space in the world.
The South Asia Competition jury was headed by Mira Nair and also included Australian filmmaker David Michod, Filipino filmmaker and actor Isabel Sandoval...
- 11/4/2023
- by Liz Shackleton
- Deadline Film + TV
Sarvnik Kaur’s documentary “Against the Tide” has won the Golden Gateway Award at the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival. The film previously won awards at Sundance, Sydney and Seattle and best documentary at the Asia Pacific Screen Awards on the same evening as Mumbai.
Diwa Shah’s San Sebastian winner “Bahadur: The Brave” received Mumbai’s Silver Gateway Award. The festival’s Gender Sensitivity Award, for a film that challenges gender stereotypes and norms, which is decided by India’s Film Critics Guild, was won by Leesa Gazi’s “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”). The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s “Agra,” which premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
The Rashid Irani Young Critics’ Choice Award, a program created by the festival to nurture young writers on cinema, was won by Shahrukhkhan Chavada’s “Kayo Kayo Colour?” Dominic Sangma’s Locarno title “Rimdogittanga” (“Rapture”) won the Netpac Award.
Diwa Shah’s San Sebastian winner “Bahadur: The Brave” received Mumbai’s Silver Gateway Award. The festival’s Gender Sensitivity Award, for a film that challenges gender stereotypes and norms, which is decided by India’s Film Critics Guild, was won by Leesa Gazi’s “Barir Naam Shahana” (“A House Named Shahana”). The Special Jury Award went to Kanu Behl’s “Agra,” which premiered at Cannes earlier this year.
The Rashid Irani Young Critics’ Choice Award, a program created by the festival to nurture young writers on cinema, was won by Shahrukhkhan Chavada’s “Kayo Kayo Colour?” Dominic Sangma’s Locarno title “Rimdogittanga” (“Rapture”) won the Netpac Award.
- 11/4/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar voters in the Best International Feature Film category have received their group assignments for this year’s initial round of voting, with 89 films included on the seven lists that the Academy has sent to members.
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
The lists, which were obtained by TheWrap, include presumed favorites “The Zone of Interest” (United Kingdom), “The Taste of Things” (France), “The Promised Land” (Denmark) and “Perfect Days” (Japan), along with a number of documentaries, among them Estonia’s “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood,” Brazil’s “Pictures of Ghosts” and Ukraine’s “20 Days in Mariupol.”
The 89 films are four short of the record of 93 qualifying films in the category. The list of group assignments does not make up the Academy’s official list of eligible films; it’s possible that assigned films might still fail to qualify before first-round voting begins on Dec. 18. For the most part, though, films that are included in the group...
- 10/31/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Bhutan’s official Oscar entry “The Monk And The Gun,” Pawo Choyning Dorji’s follow-up to “Lunana: A Yak in The Classroom,” has been bought by a raft of well-established international theatrical distributors.
Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).
Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America. Films Boutique is currently negotiating deals in other territories.
Choyning Dorji’s feature debut, “Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom,” was the second film ever submitted by Bhutan for the Oscar race and...
Following its festival premieres at Telluride, Toronto, Rome and Busan, “The Monk and the Gun” has been sold by Films Boutique to Pyramide Distribution (France), September Films (Benelux), Rialto Distribution (Australia), Future Films (Scandinavia), A Contracorriente (Spain), Lev Films (Israel), Aurora Films (Poland), Trigon (Switzerland), Alambique Films (Portugal) and Impact Films (India and Indian Subcontinent).
Earlier this week, the crowdpleaser was also acquired by Roadside Attraction for the U.S. in a deal negotiated with UTA, which is repping the film in North America. Films Boutique is currently negotiating deals in other territories.
Choyning Dorji’s feature debut, “Lunana, a Yak in the Classroom,” was the second film ever submitted by Bhutan for the Oscar race and...
- 10/26/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Roadside Attractions has acquired U.S. rights to Bhutan’s official selection for Best International Feature at the 96th Academy Awards, The Monk and the Gun, a spiritual fable written, directed, and co-produced by the Oscar-nominated director of 2019’s Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, Pawo Choyning Dorj. Contending for Best International Film, Lunana became the first Bhutanese film ever nominated for an Oscar. The Monk and the Gun premiered at the Telluride Film Festival and later the Toronto International Film Festival where it won critical and audience acclaim, currently holding a 100% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In my Deadline review of the film after its Telluride premiere I said, “If I were a betting man — which I am — I would venture to say that with his second film The Monk and the Gun, which just had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend and goes on to Toronto next week,...
In my Deadline review of the film after its Telluride premiere I said, “If I were a betting man — which I am — I would venture to say that with his second film The Monk and the Gun, which just had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend and goes on to Toronto next week,...
- 10/18/2023
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline Film + TV
The festival has dropped its international competition in favour of a South Asia focus.
The Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival has unveiled a South Asia-focused revamp for its first in-person event since 2019, set to run October 27 to November 5.
The festival has dropped its international and India Gold competitions and will launch its first South Asia competitive section as part of a new approach to become a hub for cinema and talent from the region and diaspora.
The 14 films in the South Asia Competition are from first and second-time filmmakers from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany,...
The Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival has unveiled a South Asia-focused revamp for its first in-person event since 2019, set to run October 27 to November 5.
The festival has dropped its international and India Gold competitions and will launch its first South Asia competitive section as part of a new approach to become a hub for cinema and talent from the region and diaspora.
The 14 films in the South Asia Competition are from first and second-time filmmakers from India, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Nepal as well as diaspora filmmakers from the UK and Germany,...
- 10/9/2023
- by Michael Rosser
- ScreenDaily
After a three-year hiatus, the Jio Mami Mumbai Film Festival is returning with a larger lineup and an expanded focus on South Asian cinema.
The festival will feature 250 films including 40 world premieres, 45 Asia premieres and 70 South Asia Premieres. The opening and closing films have not been finalized yet.
The festival’s new vision is to become a hub for South Asian and South Asian diaspora cinema and talent and, in keeping with this, the main competition is for 14 films from the region. These include the world premieres of Leesa Gazi’s “A House Named Shahana” (Bangladesh-u.K.), Dibakar Das Roy’s “Dilli Dark” (India), Sumanth Bhat’s “Mithya” (India) and Fazil Razak’s “The Sentence” (India). The new focus will also include 46 non-competition films from South Asia.
The Icons South Asia strand features Anand Patwardhan’s Toronto title “The World is Family”; “Indi(r)a’s Emergency” by Vikramaditya Motwane...
The festival will feature 250 films including 40 world premieres, 45 Asia premieres and 70 South Asia Premieres. The opening and closing films have not been finalized yet.
The festival’s new vision is to become a hub for South Asian and South Asian diaspora cinema and talent and, in keeping with this, the main competition is for 14 films from the region. These include the world premieres of Leesa Gazi’s “A House Named Shahana” (Bangladesh-u.K.), Dibakar Das Roy’s “Dilli Dark” (India), Sumanth Bhat’s “Mithya” (India) and Fazil Razak’s “The Sentence” (India). The new focus will also include 46 non-competition films from South Asia.
The Icons South Asia strand features Anand Patwardhan’s Toronto title “The World is Family”; “Indi(r)a’s Emergency” by Vikramaditya Motwane...
- 10/9/2023
- by Naman Ramachandran
- Variety Film + TV
What would a monk want with a gun? Bringing wisdom and a streak of wry humor to his Bhutan-set sophomore feature, “The Monk and the Gun,” director Pawo Choyning Dorji teases any number of possible answers to that question over the course of a droll, shrewdly satirical fable, in which Western values crash against a seemingly intransigent (but potentially more enlightened) South Asian culture.
A gifted storyteller who keeps audiences guessing about his characters’ motives until the surprising moment everything comes together, Dorji was born in Bhutan, but attended university in Wisconsin. That uncommon mix of influences gives him a unique perspective on both his home country and the way the sparsely populated, slow-to-modernize kingdom is perceived by the outside world (Bhutan was basically the last corner of the world to get internet access). The director’s natural human-interest sensibility earned devoted fans — and an unexpected Oscar nomination — for his appealing 2019 debut,...
A gifted storyteller who keeps audiences guessing about his characters’ motives until the surprising moment everything comes together, Dorji was born in Bhutan, but attended university in Wisconsin. That uncommon mix of influences gives him a unique perspective on both his home country and the way the sparsely populated, slow-to-modernize kingdom is perceived by the outside world (Bhutan was basically the last corner of the world to get internet access). The director’s natural human-interest sensibility earned devoted fans — and an unexpected Oscar nomination — for his appealing 2019 debut,...
- 10/7/2023
- by Peter Debruge
- Variety Film + TV
Predicting the eventual five Oscar nominees for Best International Feature is made difficult by the three-step process that begins after the October 2, 2023 deadline for countries to submit entries. To be part of the selection process for this category, which was called Best Foreign Language Film before 2020, requires a great deal of dedication. (Scroll down for the most up-to-date 2024 Oscars Best International Feature predictions.)
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
In the days following the deadline for submissions, the academy determines each film’s eligibility. Then the several hundred academy members who serve on the International Feature screening committee are divided into groups and required to watch all their submissions over a six-week period that ends in early December. Their top 15 vote-getters will make it to the next round. That list of semi-finalists will be revealed on December 21, 2023.
These 15 films will be made available to the entire academy membership who can cast ballots for the final five...
- 9/25/2023
- by Paul Sheehan and Jacob Sarkisian
- Gold Derby
We’ve got the keys to the weekend, Insider fans. Jesse Whittock here guiding you through the international film and TV stories you need to read to top off the working week.
Russell Brand Fallout
Serious allegations: Jake and Max headed to the Rts Cambridge Convention this week, a bi-annual confab bringing together the great-and-the-good of the British TV industry to ruminate and speculate over the future of the sector. But, as is so often the case, events got in the way. In the days leading up, Russell Brand was accused by four women of allegations ranging from rape to sexual assault via a bombshell joint investigation that has been nearly five years in the making from The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4. The entertainment world was rocked and the BBC, Channel 4 and Big Brother producer Banijay all reacted by launching investigations into historic allegations, while Brand, a one-time man-of-the-moment,...
Russell Brand Fallout
Serious allegations: Jake and Max headed to the Rts Cambridge Convention this week, a bi-annual confab bringing together the great-and-the-good of the British TV industry to ruminate and speculate over the future of the sector. But, as is so often the case, events got in the way. In the days leading up, Russell Brand was accused by four women of allegations ranging from rape to sexual assault via a bombshell joint investigation that has been nearly five years in the making from The Times, Sunday Times and Channel 4. The entertainment world was rocked and the BBC, Channel 4 and Big Brother producer Banijay all reacted by launching investigations into historic allegations, while Brand, a one-time man-of-the-moment,...
- 9/22/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The Oscars Best International Feature Film race landed two major frontrunners on the same day on Thursday, with the United Kingdom submitting Jonathan Glazer’s chilling World War II drama “The Zone of Interest” and France following with Tran Anh Hung’s rapturous “The Taste of Things” in the one-film-per-country competition.
“The Zone of Interest,” set among German families who live on the outskirts of Auschwitz, won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and won raves as one of the most original and unnerving films to deal with the Holocaust since “Son of Saul,” which won the Oscar in this category eight years ago. It was considered the obvious choice for the U.K. to submit.
France, on the other hand, had an extremely difficult choice between Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring Sandra Huller as a woman on trial for murdering her husband,...
“The Zone of Interest,” set among German families who live on the outskirts of Auschwitz, won the Grand Prize at this year’s Cannes Film Festival and won raves as one of the most original and unnerving films to deal with the Holocaust since “Son of Saul,” which won the Oscar in this category eight years ago. It was considered the obvious choice for the U.K. to submit.
France, on the other hand, had an extremely difficult choice between Palme d’Or winner “Anatomy of a Fall,” starring Sandra Huller as a woman on trial for murdering her husband,...
- 9/21/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
"Embrace the simplicity of Bhutan and discover the richness within." Another film about the mystical ways of Bhutan – this is the one of the best hidden gems of the 2023 fall film festival season. The Monk and the Gun is the second feature film written and directed by the extraordinarily talented Bhutanese filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji. His first film, called Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, was nominated for an Oscar in 2022 but it didn't win. It's a good film, but not one of my favorites. His new film, however, is an instant favorite. I loved this, really, really loved this film. It's a fascinating philosophical look at life in Bhutan, told with confidence and filmed absolutely perfectly. And at the same time it's also brilliant satirical commentary on America's stubborn ways, as opposed to the more sensible Bhutan society based in Buddhism. Of course there's something about Himalayan culture that...
- 9/17/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
by Cláudio Alves
During my days at the festival, I've found TIFF can be a place of great discovery, full of small titles coexisting with big ones, often besting them from a disadvantageous position. Discovery can also exist in the dialogues established between programmed projects, threads of shared ideas and ideals linking works of distinct artists from all over the globe.
Because of its status as Bhutan's Oscar submission and Pawo Choyning Dorji's follow-up to his nominated Lunana, I would always see The Monk and the Gun. However, the conversations it shares with other, less high profile films, were a welcome surprise. Despite their disparate genres themes of encroaching modernity within traditional communities of mountainous Asian nations echoed back from the Nepalese A Road to a Village and the Mongolian City of Wind...
During my days at the festival, I've found TIFF can be a place of great discovery, full of small titles coexisting with big ones, often besting them from a disadvantageous position. Discovery can also exist in the dialogues established between programmed projects, threads of shared ideas and ideals linking works of distinct artists from all over the globe.
Because of its status as Bhutan's Oscar submission and Pawo Choyning Dorji's follow-up to his nominated Lunana, I would always see The Monk and the Gun. However, the conversations it shares with other, less high profile films, were a welcome surprise. Despite their disparate genres themes of encroaching modernity within traditional communities of mountainous Asian nations echoed back from the Nepalese A Road to a Village and the Mongolian City of Wind...
- 9/15/2023
- by Cláudio Alves
- FilmExperience
One of the most surprising Oscar nominations of recent years came in 2019 when Bhutan’s “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” landed the country’s first nom in the Best International Feature Film category. That film’s first-time director, Pawo Choyning Dorji, has now unveiled his second movie, “The Monk and the Gun,” which played at both the Telluride and Toronto Film Festivals, and in the process suggested that Pawo is not a flash-in-the-pan — instead, he’s a genuine talent at making feel-good movies that are charming without being cloying.
“The Monk and the Gun,” though, is a more mature and more intriguing work than its predecessor. “Lunana,” for all the abundant charm that made it an Oscar surprise, put a gender-swapped, romance-deprived and geographically distant spin on the plots of about half the Hallmark movies in existence: city dweller who’s been living the fast life must go to a small town,...
“The Monk and the Gun,” though, is a more mature and more intriguing work than its predecessor. “Lunana,” for all the abundant charm that made it an Oscar surprise, put a gender-swapped, romance-deprived and geographically distant spin on the plots of about half the Hallmark movies in existence: city dweller who’s been living the fast life must go to a small town,...
- 9/15/2023
- by Steve Pond
- The Wrap
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/13/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/12/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
Screen is profiling every submission for best international feature at the 96th Academy Awards.
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
Entries for the 2024 Oscar for best international feature are underway, and Screen is profiling each one on this page.
The 96th Academy Awards is set to take place on March 10, 2024 at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
An international feature film is defined as a feature-length motion picture (over 40 minutes) produced outside the US with a predominantly (more than 50%) non-English dialogue track and can include animated and documentary features.
Submitted films must have been released theatrically in their respective countries between December 1, 2022, and October 31, 2023. The deadline...
- 9/11/2023
- by Screen staff
- ScreenDaily
It’s hard to make much sense of what’s unfolding as the first few minutes of Pawo Choyning Dorji‘s “The Monk and the Gun” pass by. However, what is clear is that this immediately comes out of the gate with a slice-of-life feeling in stark contrast to what one might expect from a film with this particular brand of odd title. Throughout the first act, which has been billed as a comedy of sorts, one supposes it is guilelessly pleasant; it could be easy to wonder if this is, in fact, actually a documentary, as the narrative revolves around several seemingly unrelated storylines set against the backdrop of the mid-2000s during a time when democratic elections are starting to see their introduction to the nation of Bhutan.
Continue reading ‘The Monk And The Gun’ Review: Simple Isn’t Always Best [TIFF] at The Playlist.
Continue reading ‘The Monk And The Gun’ Review: Simple Isn’t Always Best [TIFF] at The Playlist.
- 9/10/2023
- by Brian Farvour
- The Playlist
Zhang Xin, the renowned Chinese entrepreneur who used her love of architecture and brilliant business acumen to reshape Beijing and Shanghai’s skyline, has turned her attention to a new challenge: film producer. In September 2022, the billionaire businesswoman — who spent her teenage years working in Hong Kong garment and electronics factories — resigned as CEO of Soho China, one of the world’s preeminent real estate companies she built with her husband, and took up permanent residence in New York City.
Zhang will celebrate the one-year anniversary of leaving Soho at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, where the Manhattan-based Closer Media, the startup indie production and financing venture she runs with veteran indie producer William Horberg, has no fewer than three films screening. Horberg’s numerous credits include The Queen’s Gambit and The Kite Runner.
Their Toronto lineup includes the Tony Goldwyn-directed Ezra, a dramedy about an autistic 11-year-old who embarks...
Zhang will celebrate the one-year anniversary of leaving Soho at the 2023 Toronto Film Festival, where the Manhattan-based Closer Media, the startup indie production and financing venture she runs with veteran indie producer William Horberg, has no fewer than three films screening. Horberg’s numerous credits include The Queen’s Gambit and The Kite Runner.
Their Toronto lineup includes the Tony Goldwyn-directed Ezra, a dramedy about an autistic 11-year-old who embarks...
- 9/9/2023
- by Pamela McClintock
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.