Title: Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
Tagline: Find what you seek in a place you never expected.
Genre: Drama
Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Cast: Sherab Dorji, Ugyen Norbu Lhendup, Keldon Lhamo Gurung, Pem Zam, Chimi Dem, Kunzang Wangdi, Tshering Dorji
Release: 2019-11-16
Runtime: 109
Plot: A teacher struggling for inspiration travels to the most remote school in the world. It takes being so far away to understand the importance of his work... and to appreciate the value of yak dung!LUNANA: A YAK IN THE CLASSROOM (2022) Kanopy and Streaming Rental. Oscar nominee for International Film. Pawo Choyning Dorji's debut tells the universal story of a teacher sent to a tiny village to educate the local children. Sherab Dorji is Ugyen, a twenty-something who lives in Bhutan's capitol of Thimphu when he is dispatched to distant Lunana - population 56, and, with very limited electricity. It's considered so isolated that the school is referred to as the most remote in the world.
Dorji, who also wrote the screenplay, keeps things simple. There are no grand gestures or revelations, just Ugyen interacting with the locals. The theme of making a connection with the schoolkids may be plain to see (and, of course, it works vice-versa), but, it's done in a soulful way with no cloying or artificial drama injected into the mix. It's very lack of pretentiousness is its charm.
And, yes, there IS a Yak who lives in the makeshift classroom. All the more appropriate since the unofficial Lunana song is a paean to yaks.
www.themoviedb.org
Dorji, who also wrote the screenplay, keeps things simple. There are no grand gestures or revelations, just Ugyen interacting with the locals. The theme of making a connection with the schoolkids may be plain to see (and, of course, it works vice-versa), but, it's done in a soulful way with no cloying or artificial drama injected into the mix. It's very lack of pretentiousness is its charm.
And, yes, there IS a Yak who lives in the makeshift classroom. All the more appropriate since the unofficial Lunana song is a paean to yaks.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
A teacher, in search of inspiration, travels to the most remote school in the world, where he ends up realizing how important his job is and appreciating the value of yak dung.
www.themoviedb.org
