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his windows when the children run out of writing material. Asha suggests that the teacher may have been a yak in a past life, as yaks are prized in the community. Ugyen quickly becomes a favorite of the children, performing songs on his guitar and teaching them maths, English, and
Dzongkha. They are sad when they learn that Ugyen plans to leave when winter comes and will not return.
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to rest and he can take Ugyen back in a few days. The next morning, Ugyen is awoken by Pem Zam, the class captain, who tells him the children are waiting for him in the classroom. Ugyen is taken aback by their affection for him, as the children believe teachers have the ability to “touch the future”. He decides to stay and teach for the remainder of the year.
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Asha approaches Ugyen with news that winter is approaching and it is time for him to leave before the pass is covered in snow. He asks Ugyen to come back the following spring, but Ugyen says that he intends to leave Bhutan for good, disappointing him. He breaks the news to Saldon, reassuring her that
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Ugyen meets Michen, a village guide who leads him up the six-day-long path to Lunana. The villagers are excited by his arrival, but Ugyen, appalled by the poor conditions of the village, admits regret at coming and asks to be taken back. Asha, the village leader, informs him that the mules need time
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Ugyen later meets Saldon, the niece of Asha, as she sings a traditional song atop a hillside. She tells him that she sings it daily as an offering to the village, and he asks her to teach it to him; they meet daily, and he slowly learns how to sing it himself. She says it is called Yak Lebi Lhadar,
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Ugyen returns the next day better prepared to teach and improvises a solution to the lack of a blackboard by writing directly on the wall with charcoal. Michen later constructs a makeshift blackboard for him. Ugyen slowly makes improvements to the classroom, including sacrificing the paper covering
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herder who lamented having to slaughter his favorite yak for the good of the village; the last verse is sung from the perspective of the yak, promising to return to its owner one day. Saldon later gifts Ugyen a yak, Norbu, so that he can use its dung to start fires. Because of the cold, Ugyen must
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Ugyen leaves Lunana after a heartfelt goodbye from the villagers. Pem Zam gives him a letter from all the children, and Saldon gifts him a scarf. Asha sings Yak Lebi Lhadar as he departs, and Michen informs Ugyen that Asha originally wrote the song. Ugyen later reads the letter from the children,
348:. At the 26th Film Festival della Lessinia in Italy, the film was awarded the Lessinia d'Oro Award for Best Film of the festival, the Giuria Microcosmo del carcere di Verona Award and a Special Mention in the Log to Green Award. At the Festival international du film de Saint-Jean-de-Luz, in
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thanking him and calling him their favorite teacher while urging him to return in the spring. On the way down the mountain, Ugyen stops at a shrine and leaves an offering for safe passage, saying that he hopes to return.
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a better teacher will come in the spring, but Saldon says that only the children can be the judges of that and they all love Ugyen. She hopes he will come back someday and perform Yak Lebi Lhadar for her.
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The end of the film shows Ugyen performing in a bar in
Australia, where nobody is paying attention to him. He stops performing his song and instead sings Yak Lebi Lhadar to a rapt audience.
363:, but it was later disqualified. However, it was resubmitted as Bhutan's entry for the following year, and was shortlisted in December 2021, as one of the five films competing at the
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Ugyen has completed four of his five mandatory years of training as a government teacher. However, he does not enjoy teaching and wishes to move to
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249:, he considers quitting his job, but his grandmother urges him to complete his teaching assignment. He decides to take it and leaves the city.
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is a simple story with a big heart -- and a reminder of film's ability to communicate universal truths across international borders"
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352:, France, the film won the Prix du Public, and Sherab Dorji was awarded the Best Actor award for his role of Ugyen Dorji.
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324:, 98% of 63 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.6/10. The website's consensus reads: "
706:"Oscars Shortlists Include Beyoncé, 'Spider-Man' and Two Jonny Greenwood Scores as France's 'Titane' Is Snubbed"
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336:, assigned the film a score of 76 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.
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The film won the
Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film and the Best of the Fest at the 2020
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641:"Oscars Reveal Record-Breaking Lists of Contenders in Documentary, International Categories"
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575:"Festival international du film de Saint-Jean-de-Luz : un palmarès bourré de talents"
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List of
Bhutanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film
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Bhutan submitted a film but didn't establish an
Academy-approved selection committee
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to become a singer. When he is assigned to teach in the remote mountain village of
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List of submissions to the 94th
Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
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List of submissions to the 93rd
Academy Awards for Best International Feature Film
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in his feature directorial debut. The film had its world premiere at the
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keep Norbu in the classroom, and he becomes a fixture of the lessons.
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514:"Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom wins Audience Choice Award"
675:"Oscars International Race 2021: Complete List of Entries"
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544:"Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom wins in Lessinia"
367:, making it Bhutan's first Oscar-nominated film.
610:Is Bhutan's Second-Ever Oscar Entry (Exclusive)"
355:It was selected as the Bhutanese entry for the
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346:Palm Springs International Film Festival
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620:from the original on 17 September 2020
716:from the original on 29 December 2021
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747:from the original on 8 February 2022
651:from the original on 9 February 2021
604:Keslassy, Elsa (15 September 2020).
585:from the original on 16 October 2020
524:from the original on 9 February 2022
418:from the original on 9 December 2020
704:Davis, Clayton (21 December 2021).
129:Dangphu Dingphu:a 3 pigs Production
918:Films about guitars and guitarists
737:"Oscars: Full List of Nominations"
735:Nordyke, Kimberly; Lewis, Hilary.
685:from the original on 16 April 2022
14:
307:Tsheri Zom as Ugyen's grandmother
408:"Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom"
928:Films about music and musicians
842:Best International Feature Film
639:Pond, Steve (28 January 2021).
357:Best International Feature Film
227:Best International Feature Film
862:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
788:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
771:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
608:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
480:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
440:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
326:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
261:and it was written by a local
202:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
24:Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom
1:
292:Kelden Lhamo Gurung as Saldon
289:Ugyen Norbu Lhendup as Michen
295:Kunzang Wangdi as Asha Jinpa
286:Sherab Dorji as Ugyen Dorji
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943:Films set in the Himalayas
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298:Tshering Dorji as Singye
223:BFI London Film Festival
151:5 October 2019
923:Films about immigration
908:Dzongkha-language films
225:. It was a nominee for
741:The Hollywood Reporter
573:Odicino, Guillemette.
340:Awards and nominations
213:) is a 2019 Bhutanese
913:Films about educators
903:Bhutanese drama films
834:Bhutanese submissions
301:Sonam Tashi as Tandin
963:Films shot in Sydney
958:Films shot in Bhutan
938:Films set in schools
870:The Monk and the Gun
953:Films set in Sydney
948:Films set in Bhutan
933:Films about singers
365:94th Academy Awards
361:93rd Academy Awards
231:94th Academy Awards
219:Pawo Choyning Dorji
94:Kelden Lhamo Gurung
91:Ugyen Norbu Lhendup
65:Pawo Choyning Dorji
54:Pawo Choyning Dorji
45:Pawo Choyning Dorji
554:on 29 October 2020
304:Pem Zam as Pem Zam
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350:Saint-Jean-de-Luz
318:review aggregator
312:Critical response
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217:directed by
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172:Running time
144:Release date
116:Hsiao-Yun Ku
88:Sherab Dorji
74:Steven Xiang
18:
720:22 December
689:10 November
655:18 February
497:11 November
457:11 November
176:109 minutes
68:Jia Honglin
59:Produced by
41:Directed by
35:Film poster
893:2019 films
887:Categories
751:8 February
589:13 October
528:12 January
495:Retrieved
487:Metacritic
393:References
330:Metacritic
215:drama film
155:2019-10-05
122:Production
51:Written by
558:30 August
243:Australia
113:Edited by
16:2019 film
836:for the
793:AllMovie
745:Archived
714:Archived
683:Archived
679:The Wrap
649:Archived
645:The Wrap
618:Archived
583:Archived
579:Telerama
522:Archived
518:The Wrap
416:Archived
371:See also
320:website
211:ལུང་ནག་ན
207:Dzongkha
193:Dzongkha
189:Language
82:Starring
854:The Cup
710:Variety
614:Variety
359:at the
316:On the
229:at the
181:Country
153: (
124:company
873:(2023)
865:(2021)
857:(1999)
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247:Lunana
184:Bhutan
161:London
159: (
840:for
776:IMDb
753:2022
722:2021
691:2021
657:2021
626:2020
591:2020
560:2020
530:2020
499:2023
459:2023
424:2020
281:Cast
237:Plot
791:at
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263:yak
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Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
