PIG AT THE CROSSING

SYNOPSIS

Dolom, 29, a passionate YouTube creator and newly appointed school teacher in Bhutan, has a one-night stand with a married woman, Deki, 32. When she discovers that she’s pregnant, Dolom concocts a plan to cover up the affair and save his reputation. On his way to rendezvous with Deki, Dolom gets into a motorcycle accident and wakes up in a bizarre and chaotic world.

Slowly, he begins to realise that he is in fact dead. With the help of a mysterious guide, Dolom navigates this in-between realm and faces his storied past and the consequences of his actions. As time collapses around him, he must choose to right his wrongs and let go of his attachment to his former self or be trapped to wander in a dream-like in-between state for timelessness.

DIRECTOR’S BIO

Khyentse Norbu (born 18 June 1961) is a Buddhist Lama, writer and filmmaker from Bhutan. Known for his auteurship and guerrilla approach to filmmaking, Khyentse Norbu first emerged on the scene with his breakout film The Cup in 1999, about two football fanatic Tibetan monks in a remote Buddhist monastery who, against all odds, secure a TV to watch the 1998 World Cup final live. Since then, he has made five other films and worked with such directors of photography as Mark Lee Ping Bin (In the Mood for Love) and Bradford Young (Solo: A Star Wars Story). Pig at the Crossing is Khyentse Norbu’s sixth and was shot entirely in Bhutan with a ragtag team of the youth of Bhutan.

DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT

I am on a life-long journey to tell stories that explore the full range of human nature, including the darker emotions that pull us into morally questionable situations — the struggle to do what is considered “right”. I’m intrigued by “good and bad” and whether it’s possible for us to see goodness in a character, despite their morally questionable behaviour. I wish to create subtle emotional narratives that leave an open question in the hearts of the viewer.

Through the sudden death of the main character, this film will explore the Buddhist idea of “the bardo” (post-death) experience through rich magical realism, creative storytelling, and symbolism. This film will poke holes in our solid belief of a truly existing self and the concepts we cultivate to build the world around us. The experience at the time of death is nothing other than what we experience in every single moment. The film will encourage us to let go at every moment.

Visually, I’m deeply inspired by the work of the great filmmaker Yasujirō Ozu in his use of colour and wide-angle, long-shot cinema. Films like Tokyo Story allow the energy and magical elements of a city to come to life while focusing on an in-depth narrative of one person’s struggle. I want to create visuals that give room to breathe in the frame, providing a richer experience of the story. Bhutan is a stunning and vibrant country — endlessly cinematic.

I have also been thinking of ways to promote and nurture art and film in my home country of Bhutan. I have decided to make this film almost entirely utilising the raw talent and ambitious energy of a group of young creatives in Bhutan who are interested in coming together to build this story with me. We will bring on a few professionals to help mentor the rest of the aspiring filmmakers. It is my hope to plant the seed of the joy of the creative process and confidence into these young artists, to have the chance to accomplish what would otherwise have seemed impossible for them.

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Druksel Dorji
drukseldorji@gmail.com

BETWEEN WINTER AND SPRING

SYNOPSIS

Burned out and adrift, healer Lee Yeon climbs a snow-covered mountain to end her life through Cheonhwa—an ancient Buddhist ritual in which monks surrendered their final breath in silence, returning to nature.

After collapsing in the snow, she awakens in the care of a solitary woman deep in the mountains. They spend the winter together, sharing quiet routines.

But none of it was real. The woman was her estranged mother, and everything unfolded within a vision suspended between life and death.

Between Winter and Spring depicts a moment of return at the boundary between life and death.

DIRECTOR’S BIO

SeoAn Kim is a South Korean filmmaker and choreographer.

She has appeared in travel documentaries for Korea’s public broadcaster EBS and studies early Buddhist thought in parallel with a samatha meditation practice.

Between Winter and Spring, her debut short film, was selected for the 2025 OIBFF Buddhist Film Festival in Korea.

AWARD HIGHLIGHTS

2024 Tamizhagam International Film Festival
Winner, Best Asian Short Film (India)

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SeoAn Kim
seoank111@gmail.com

AGENT OF HAPPINESS

SYNOPSIS

How can you measure happiness? The country of Bhutan invented Gross National Happiness to do just that, and Amber is one of the agents who travels door to door to meet people and measure how happy they really are.

He is still living with his elderly mother at the age of 40, but is nevertheless a hopeless romantic who dreams of finding love: a happiness agent who is in search of his own happiness. We embark with Amber on a cross-country road trip meeting citizens from all walks of life, reminding us of the fragility and beauty of our own happiness. No matter where we live.

DIRECTORS’ BIO

Arun Bhattarai (director, cinematographer, co-producer, Bhutan) premiered his first feature-length documentary The Next Guardian (co-directed by Dorottya Zurbó) — an intimate family story set in Bhutan — at IDFA in 2017. The film has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, Ambulante, SFFILM, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Before becoming an independent filmmaker, he worked as a TV director at the Bhutan Broadcasting Service for 5 years. He graduated from the first edition of the DocNomads Joint Master in documentary directing in 2014. His recent short documentary Mountain Man, about Bhutan’s only glaciologist, won the best pitch prize at If/Then Global Short Pitch at IDFA 2019 and is supported by the IDA-XRM Media Incubator programme. The film has been screened at IDFA, DOC NYC, Chicago IFF etc. His new film Agent of Happiness is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund, among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True/False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. He established his own production company — Sound Pictures — dedicated to creative documentaries in 2015. He is one of the few independent documentary filmmakers in Bhutan.

Dorottya Zurbó (co-director, Hungary) premiered her first feature-length documentary The Next Guardian (co-directed by Arun Bhattarai) — an intimate family story set in Bhutan — at IDFA in 2017. Since then, it has been screened at more than 40 international festivals (True/False, San Francisco IDFF, MoMA DocFortnight etc.). Parallelly, she worked on her first directorial debut Easy Lessons, a feature-length documentary about a young Somalian refugee girl who tries to adapt to Hungary, premiered at the Locarno Film Festival Critics’ Week section in 2018. The film participated in more than 40 international festivals (HotDocs, Camden IDFF, Sarajevo IFF etc.), receiving awards such as the Hungarian Critics’ Award for Best Documentary in 2019. Her new film Agent of Happiness is supported by the Sundance Film Institute, Catapult Film Fund and DMZ Docs Fund, among others. The project was developed at the Points North Fellowship 2022, True/False Rough Cut Retreat 2023 and Doc.incubator 2023. Besides filmmaking, she has been teaching at the prestigious DocNomads Joint Master programme in Europe.

DIRECTORS’ STATEMENT

As documentary filmmakers, we search for authentic human stories. We feel it’s important to show the deep human dramas behind everyday events, the dynamics of relationships, the hidden, invisible faces of desires, dreams and fears. In our films, we often deal with the meeting of cultures, identities, values and patterns. We are attracted to these stories, to intimate life situations where, by bridging the cultural difference, we can show the familiar in the other, the universal values, the feelings that connect us, wherever we grow up in the world. Agent of Happiness is a bittersweet tale that takes place in an environment which is still enigmatic and untouched, disguised from the eyes of a wider world. We believe that it is also important to produce stories with uplifting, heart-warming potential in difficult times, that this is one of our responsibilities as artists.

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Cinephil Ltd
www.cinephil.com
info@cinephil.com

LOVING KARMA

SYNOPSIS

What happens when suffering meets compassion?

As a struggling young boy, Lobsang Phuntsok was sent to a Tibetan Buddhist monastery — a life-changing process that helped him heal and find his purpose.

After years as a spiritual teacher in the United States, he felt called to return to his birthplace in the remote Indian Himalayas to create ‘Jhamtse Gatsal’ (Tibetan for ‘The Garden of Love and Compassion’) a home for wounded children like himself. This community is inspired by His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama’s lifelong commitment to compassion and today remains a living example of how pain can be transformed into love.

Loving Karma incorporates and expands the Emmy-winning short film Tashi and the Monk (last screened during THISBFF 2016) into a feature-length documentary by returning to Jhamtse Gatsal twelve years later and picking up the stories of Lobsang, Tashi and the new arrivals she is learning to care for. Can community and compassion really heal even the deepest wounds?

DIRECTORS’ BIO

Johnny Burke is an award-winning director and editor. Beneath their surface drama his films often include an exploration of the human psyche, delving into complex issues involving trauma and interpersonal relationships with humour and an empathetic touch. His work has won various awards, including the Outstanding Short Documentary Emmy, Banff Best Film Adventure and Exploration, and Amnesty International Best Documentary.

Andrew Hinton is an Emmy-winning independent documentary filmmaker based in Portland, Oregon. Originally from the UK, he produces evocative, self-shot documentaries rooted in human resilience, hope and social change. His acclaimed work includes Tashi and the Monk, Amar, and This Is Where I Find Myself. He is father to two young children whose existence inspires relentless humility and an occasional state of wonder.

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Andrew Hinton
www.andrewhinton.film
ah23@mac.com

FOUNDER
Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community
Lobsang Phuntsok

Lobsang Phuntsok is an internationally recognised figure in the fields of transformative learning, sustainable development, and social entrepreneurship, making his story and work highly relevant for educators and organisations seeking to positively impact society. In 2006, Lobsang returned to his native village in the northeastern Himalayas to create Jhamtse Gatsal Children’s Community, which translates to a “Garden of Love and Compassion.” The initiative is a loving home and an immersive learning environment for vulnerable children and a beacon of sustainable living and social responsibility for the region and the world at large.

Lobsang’s life and mission are documented in the Emmy Award-winning film, Tashi and the Monk and his recent TEDxKyoto talk. His dedication to creating sustainable and transformative learning environments for a healthy adulthood and career resonates deeply with the principles of social responsibility and ethical action. They serve as a shining example to benefit individuals, communities, and the planet at large.