Skip to main content
Dhulpa film image, director Kunsang Kyirong

Dhulpa

World Premiere

Narrative and documentary elements are woven together to tell the stories of a Tibetan immigrant community working at a local laundry facility.

 

Supported by

Media Partner

Community Broadcast Partner

Community Partner

Director
Cast

Jamphel Gyatso, Leyki Palmo, Dorjee Chodon, Pema Wangmo, Tashi Dhundup, Dolma Tsamchoe

Credits
Country of Origin

Canada

Year

2022

Language

In Tibetan, Tsangla, and English with English subtitles

Film Contact
Content Warning

Coarse language

PG
18 min

Featured in:

Horse Brothers film image

VIFF Short Forum: Program 3

The camera eye knows no bounds in these stories that push the limits of gravity and grace.

 

MORE INFO

Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre

Shifting Baselines

Dir. Julien Elie
100 min

Towering rockets rise as wetlands vanish in this sly black-and-white documentary about SpaceX’s conquest of Boca Chica, Texas. With sci-fi aesthetics and observational calm, the film exposes how cosmic dreams begin with the quiet erasure of Earth.

International Village 8
A Poet
A Poet film image; man shouting while running

A Poet

Dir. Simón Mesa Soto
120 min

When embittered poet Oscar Restrepo takes a job at a local high school, he meets Yurlady, a talented student from a poor background. Seeking to help her cultivate her art, he draws her into the poetry world — to disastrous and comedic results.

International Village 9

La Salsa Vive

Dir. Juan Carvajal
103 min

An exuberant celebration of salsa that traces the genre's evolution from New York City in the 1960s and 70s to Cali, Colombia — the salsa capital of the world. Carvajal’s documentary highlights the rich legacy of this musical form and the joy it inspires.

International Village 7
Memory of Princess Mumbi
Memory of Princess Mumbi film image; two people leaning on each other sitting in a falling-apart jungle city

Memory of Princess Mumbi

Dir. Damien Hauser
80 min

Can a filmmaker depict the future without AI? Damien Hauser crafts a genre-blending Afro-speculative fable about love, war, and the future of storytelling in a resurrected African kingdom. A micro-budget epic fueled by digital invention and heart.

Fifth Avenue Cinema - 19+ only International Village 9

Winter Light

Dir. Cho Hyun-suh
90 min

Da-bin has a broke mother, a runaway brother, and a sister who’s going deaf, but gets by thanks to his best friend and caring girlfriend. Poignant and poetic, this is a film that explores the pain of adolescence and the stress of competing loyalties.

VIFF Centre - VIFF Cinema

The Nonsense

Dir. Lee Je-hui
115 min

Insurance investigator Yoo-na is working a case of death by drowning; her company claims suicide, but the truth is unclear. Confronting an eccentric beneficiary with great powers of persuasion, Yoo-na finds herself in a fog of doubt and suspicion.

International Village 8

Credits

Producer

Madeleine Davis

Screenwriter

Kunsang Kyirong

Cinematography

Peter Hagge

Editor

Alexander Farah

Director

Kunsang Kyirong headshot, Dhulpa director

Kunsang Kyirong

Kunsang Kyirong is a Canadian filmmaker and animator. Her work draws upon the experience of immigration. Through a hybrid method that integrates documentary elements within fictionalized narratives, she investigates personal relationships within the Tibetan diaspora. Her films use an observational style centered in community members’ natural environments. Her work has screened at Tricycle Magazine and at festivals such as the Ottawa International Animation Festival, the Dharamshala International Film Festival, and the Golden Ger International Film Festival.