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Snow Leopard film image; man standing in front of herd of goats, facing off against a snow leopard

The last film Pema Tseden finished before his death at age 53 is an enthralling, semi-mystical fable about the deep spiritual connection between a snow leopard and a young Tibetan monk.

On the high Tibetan plateau of Madoi County in Qinghai province, a snow leopard (brought to life with superbly subtle CGI) has killed nine rams belonging to the young monk’s brother, Jinpa. Jinpa is almost uncontrollably furious and demands compensation; otherwise, he’ll slaughter the captive leopard. But these magnificent beasts are rare, protected animals. As a TV news crew arrives, local officials and the police try to mediate. A tense standoff ensues, during which tensions between state power, traditional ways of life, contemporary media, and migrating souls play out. Pema Tseden’s cinema expands to embrace digital effects and compassionate spiritual fantasy in ways that are both unsettling and deeply moving.

Director

Pema Tseden

Cast

Jinpa, Genden Phuntsok, Xiong Ziqi, Tseten Tashi

Credits
Country of Origin

China

Year

2023

Language

In Tibetan and Mandarin with English subtitles

19+
109 min

Book Tickets

Saturday May 17

7:00 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Book Now

Sunday May 25

2:20 pm
Hearing Assistance Subtitles
VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
Book Now

Credits

Executive Producer

Nan Ji, Zhou Hao, Pema Tseden, Gong Yu

Producer

Wang Lei

Screenwriter

Pema Tseden

Cinematography

Matthias Delvaux

Editor

Jin Di

Original Music

Dukar Tserang

Art Director

Daktse Drundrup

Also in This Series

Tibetan director Pema Tseden became one of the most remarkable filmmakers of this century, revolutionizing the representation of Tibet and Tibetans and sharing his visions of authentic Tibetan life with the entire film-going world by reimagining how narrative cinematic fiction could operate within so-called “Chinese minority cinema”.

Jinpa

Dir. Pema Tseden
87 min

Produced by Wong Kar-wai, Pema Tseden's offbeat fable is part road movie, part Tibetan western, as the fates of two men named Jinpa intertwine and weighty moral questions of karma and compassion hang in the balance.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
The Search
The Search film image; woman standing on the side of a desert road

The Search

Dir. Pema Tseden
111 min

Shot in exquisite long takes, this brilliant film is a road movie wrapped around three love stories. A director and crew are looking for local cast to star in their film version of the classic Tibetan opera Prince Drime Kundun.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Silent Holy Stones

Dir. Pema Tseden
102 min

In Pema Tseden's first feature, a very young Tibetan lama living in a monastery in Qinghai discovers the delights of binge-watching a Chinese TV serial, just one aspect of the contradictions he will have to navigate in a culture steeped in tradition.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Snow Leopard

Dir. Pema Tseden
109 min

The last film Pema Tseden finished before his death at age 53 is an enthralling, semi-mystical fable about the deep spiritual connection between a young Tibetan priest and a snow leopard responsible for killing livestock belonging to the priest's brother.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

Tharlo

Dir. Pema Tseden
123 min

Pema Tseden's most sublime film -- about a shepherd's disorienting trip to the town to acquire an ID card -- is a mesmerizing psychosexual study of masculinity in crisis, and a riveting exploration of social change.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema
First Steps: Pema Tseden Short Films
The Silent Manistone film image; person leading a yak being ridden by another person across grasslands

First Steps: Pema Tseden Short Films

Dir. Pema Tseden
51 min

Pema Tseden was the first Tibetan director to graduate from the Beijing Film Academy. The Silent Manistone (2002) and his graduation film, The Grassland (2004) are fascinating sketches for later works.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Old Dog

Dir. Pema Tseden
89 min

In what may be Pema Tseden's darkest film, a Tibetan mastiff is sold, recovered, re-sold, stolen, and recovered yet again, passing through the hands of an ethnic Chinese dealer, the local police, and Tibetan dog rustlers.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre

Balloon

Dir. Pema Tseden
103 min

The young sons of virile Tibetan shepherd Dargye mistake their parents' condoms for balloons. Meanwhile Dargye is looking for a ram to impregnate his flock. Balloon is fascinated with ideas of potency, pregnancy, and the possibilities for female autonomy.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Sacred Arrow

Dir. Pema Tseden
96 min

A romantic, gorgeously shot, widescreen modern fable, this is a marked departure from Pema Tseden's usual stye. Handsome Nyima and brooding Dradon are ace archers from rival villages who vie in an annual contest for the ultimate prize, the Sacred Arrow.

VIFF Centre - Lochmaddy Studio Theatre VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema