On the eve of the Kingdom of Bhutan’s momentous transition to democracy in 2006, a monk sets off on a mysterious quest for his master, while an American collector arrives in a small town searching for a rare, valuable artefact. Director Pawo Choyning Dorji’s debut film, the first Oscar-nominated Bhutanese film, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, was a heartwarming, tranquil vision of rural life in the Himalayas. The Monk and the Gun is equally attuned to seeking simple, profound truths; an entertaining tale about the conflict between tradition and progress and a gentle ensemble drama interwoven with an entertaining comedy of manners and socio-political commentary. The Monk and the Gun shows the intricate dynamics of Bhutan’s cultural bonds, and not only tells a great story with its cast of colourful characters, but speaks to the warmth at the heart of the country itself.
Relaxed yet perceptive, The Monk And the Gun is a freewheeling convergence of modernity and tradition, the urban and the rural.
Screen International
Media Partner
Tandin Wangchuk, Deki Lhamo, Pema Zangmo Sherpa, Tandin Sonam, Harry Einhorn
Bhutan/France/USA/Taiwan
2023
Showcase
In Dzongkha and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits
Screenwriter
Pawo Choyning Dorji
Cinematography
Jigmé T. Tenzing
Editor
Hsiao-Yun Ku
Original Music
Frédéric Alvarez
Director
Pawo Choyning Dorji
Pawo Choyning Dorji is a writer, photographer, and filmmaker from the Kingdom of Bhutan. Pawo’s introduction to film came in 2012 when he worked as Khyentse Norbu’s assistant for Vara: a Blessing. In 2016 he produced Norbu’s critically acclaimed Bhutanese feature Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait. The film had its world premiere at the 69th Festival del film Locarno. His directing debut Lunana: a Yak in the Classroom was nominated at the Academy Awards for Best International Feature in 2021, the first Bhutanese film to be so recognized.
Filmography: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (2021)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Left-Handed Girl
Co-written and edited by Sean Baker (Anora), Shi-Ching Tsou's heartwarming solo feature debut follows a single mom in Taipei who is too consumed with her noodle stand to keep tabs on her five-year-old daughter's burgeoning shoplifting habit.
The Librarians
Dispatches from the front line of America's culture wars (and ours too): librarians speak out about the war against ideas, history, freedom of expression and sexual identity, a campaign in which an open mind is the ultimate enemy.
Dawn Pemberton Sings Aretha + Amazing Grace Film Screening
These dates are going to knock your socks off: one of the all-time great concert films, Aretha Franklin performing at the New Bethel Baptist Church in 1972, and Canada's own Queen of Soul, Dawn Pemberton, performing live in Aretha's honour.
Caravaggio
In the latest from Exhibition on Screen, co-directors David Bickerstaff and Phil Grabsky shed light not only on Caravaggio's paintings, but his life, often kept half-hidden in the same chiaroscuro tones he shaded his masterpieces with.
Train Dreams
A lovely, ruminative movie set in the Pacific Northwest in the first half of the last century. Robert (Joel Edgerton) is a lumberjack, a taciturn man who comes to appreciate the life slipping between his fingers.
Thieves' Highway
Set in the world of trucking, this unusual but effective drama fuses elements of film noir and neo-realism. It was director Jules Dassin's last American movie before the blacklist forced him into exile in Europe. Intro by Mike Archibald.