Why Bhutan's Oscar entry 'unties a knot'

Filmmaker Pawo Choyning Dorji's family originally comes from the eastern part of Bhutan where, if a child asks a parent to tell them a story, they ask them to "untie a knot."

Dorji's latest film, "The Monk and the Gun," is his way of untying the knot that was his homeland's social, political and cultural transition in the mid-2000s. 

"I was growing up during this period and 'The Monk and the Gun' is a story about the change and transition that Bhutan went through in the 2000s, when we became the last country in the world to allow television, to allow the internet and to allow democracy to come in," Dorji said. 

But as a Bhutanese living in India, where his father was a diplomat, and returning to his homeland for school holidays, he had a unique perspective on the changes that were engulfing the Himalayan kingdom.  

"In Bhutan, we have a saying that you cannot see your eyelashes because they are so close to you. For me, that was the situation. A lot of Bhutanese at that time could not see the changes and the impact of that transition because it was so close to them," Dorji told DW in Thimphu, Bhutan's capital. 

"But for me, as a Bhutanese living abroad, I could see how our society and culture was changing — and I always thought this would make an amazing story to share with the world. It's a story of where we as Bhutanese came from and where we are going." 

The film is set in 2006, as Bhutan shifts to a democracy and the government organizes mock elections to teach the people how to vote. In a connected plotline, an American collector of antique weapons arrives in search of a legendary rifle that falls into the hands of a monk. 

Comedy, suspense and political satire 

The story is political satire and gentle comedy with elements of suspense combined with touching scenes, Dorji says, with audiences in different parts of the world responding to different elements. 

When the film received its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival in Colorado on September 1, audiences laughed at the political satire, while viewers in South Korea responded to the "story of family," Dorji added. 

But the response in his homeland was the most powerful, he admits. 

"When the film went to Bhutan, it was really beautiful because I had a cinema where all the audience was crying and becoming emotional because they connected in a very personal, intimate way in the loss of innocence because they lived through that period of change and transition." 

Making Oscar history with 'Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom'

"The Monk and the Gun" is Bhutan's submission to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for the 96th Academy Awards for the Best International Feature Film. A total of 89 titles are on the initial list, with the academy to announce the 15-film shortlist on December 21. The official nominations will be unveiled on January 23, 2024, ahead of the March 10 Oscars ceremony.

Variety magazine has ranked "The Monk and the Gun" as a "top-tier possibility" for the award. 

Bhutan has only previously submitted two films for consideration for an Oscar, "The Cup," in 1999, by Dorji's film-making mentor and spiritual teacher Khyentse Norbu, and Dorji's own directorial debut, "Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom," in 2021.  

"Lunana" — the heartwarming tale of a teacher posted to the most remote village in Bhutan — made history when it became the first Bhutanese film to be nominated for an Oscar. 

"Lunana is a story about finding home, where you belong," he said. "It is a very diverse film, it is of a culture that many people do not know of, it is set in a country that many people do not know of, it is in a language that many people have never heard of. When I submitted it to the Oscars, they did not even recognize 'Dzongkha,' my national language. The country of Bhutan was not even on the Oscars list." 

After winning stunning reviews and multiple film awards around the world, Dorji received the Heart Son of the Thunder Dragon, Bhutan's highest civilian award, from King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck.

Critical and commercial success enabled Dorji to focus on his second film and the challenges of a poor, developing country in the 21st century. 

Arrival of modernization 

"Yes, the movie focuses on the transition to democracy in Bhutan, but it is more about modernization," Dorji said of "The Monk and the Gun." "What interests me is how Bhutanese culture reacts to that change." 

"The gun in the movie represents the arrival of modernization. A gun is something Western and modern and yes, if you use it in the right way, it can be very beneficial. But it is also very dangerous."

Dorji instructed his actors to be bemused by the weapon; to hold it upside down, look down the barrel, because he wanted to portray their innocence in the face of change. And the gun is counterpointed by a large wooden phallus, a traditional symbol in Bhutan that the film used to portray tradition, culture and innocence. 

Dorji insists he has not thought about winning the Oscar in Los Angeles next year but is focused on "sharing Bhutan's culture with the rest of the world." 

"We are a culture that is based on the Buddha's teaching of love, compassion, wisdom and kindness and I want to use films to share that with the rest of the world," he said. "But I also want to make films based on these values to keep our traditions relevant and alive for local Bhutanese."  

Edited by: Elizabeth Grenier