Kunsel (Tenzin Kunsel) is an introverted young woman living in the Tibetan immigrant community of west Toronto, where she commits petty theft and spies on her neighbours through a camcorder. However, when newcomer Passang (Sonam Choekyi) moves into the neighbourhood with her much older husband, Kunsel is gradually drawn out of her solitary, watchful existence. The presence of a dhikuti — a communal lending practice in which participants contribute a fixed monthly sum to be redistributed back to community members — adds a $200,000 payout to an already volatile mix of intrigue and betrayal.
Titled after the apartment complex address around which the film is set, Kunsang Kyirong’s auspicious debut feature is a richly detailed portrait of Toronto’s Tibetan Canadian community, as well as a fascinating character study of two women alienated in more ways than one. Reminiscent of the icy post-Hitchcockian thrillers of Claude Chabrol, this is the rare film whose enigmas only deepen as it unfolds.
Oct 3 & 5: Q&A
Presented by
Media Partner
Tenzin Kunsel, Sonam Choekyi, Tsering Bawa, Lobsang Tenzin, Tsering Gyatso, Tsering Dolma
Canada
2025
In Tibetan and English with English subtitles
Book Tickets
Credits & Director
Executive Producer
Dan Montgomery, Madeleine Davis, Joaquin Cardoner
Producer
Joaquin Cardoner, Kunsang Kyirong, Kristina Wong
Screenwriter
Kunsang Kyirong
Cinematography
Nikolay Michaylov
Editor
Brendan Mills
Production Design
Dialla Kawar
Original Music
Tashi Dorji
Kunsang Kyirong
Kunsang Kyirong is a filmmaker and artist. Her films integrate documentary methods into fiction, often exploring the impacts of immigration on culture and human relationships. Her film Dhulpa (2022), shot inside a laundry facility in Canada, was produced by the Canada Council for the Arts and won the Jury Prize at the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma. She is currently working on an exhibition with the Museum of Anthropology, UBC.
Filmography: Dhulpa (2022)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
The Blue Caftan
Richly erotic and deeply moving, Maryam Touzani’s queer-themed film takes us to urban Morocco and into the lives of three beautiful souls. Halim is a master tailor; Mina is his loyal wife; Youssef is the man who slowly comes between them.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.
