Interview: The Director of 'Lunana' on making the Oscar finals, working with yaks, and meeting Ang Lee
Wednesday, January 26, 2022 at 11:00PM by Nathaniel R
Making movies is never "easy" but some movies achieve the impossible. Pawo Chonyning Dorji's debut feature, the Bhutanese Oscar finalist Lunana A Yak in the Classroom, is one of the latter kind. Its very existence is a miracle, and that's before you even get to the lottery-ticket like good fortune of competing for the Oscar. While Bhutan has a growing local film and television industry, heavily influenced by the films of Bollywood, the pictures are mostly low budget and don't travel outside of the small landlocked country. They definitely don't travel anywhere near the mountainous village where Lunana A Yak in the Classroom takes place, since there is no electricity let alone a movie theater. The charming soulful movie is about a restless young teacher named Ugyen (first time actor Sherab Dorji) who dreams of moving to Australia to pursue a music career. He very reluctantly accepts a final teaching gig to complete his government contract but that assignment is in the most remote part of all Bhutan.
Setting a story there is one thing, filming there without electricity with cast and crew of first timers -- some of whom had never even seen a movie -- is another. We had the pleasure of talking to the director about his miracle Oscar contender and why he made it and our interview follows after the jump...
[This interview has been edited for length and clarity]
NATHANIEL: It feels like a full act of the movie, an arduous days-long trek on foot, just to get to Lunana. So making a movie there... how?
PAWO CHOYNING DORJI: When I first came up with the idea everyone told me "This is impossible. You're talking about a settlement that has no electricity, no network connections. How are we going to make a movie there? How are we going to live there?' But I was adamant because I feel that if the crew and the cast go through this experience and live the life of the highlander, their experience, their feelings will then translate onto the film. And I think it has.
From the beginning I told my crew 'There is a big chance we might not be able to finish the film. We get to Lunana and we realize our solar batteries don't charge our cameras and that's it! I'm sorry but the movie will end with Ugyen hiking and then fade to black with the titles "he taught the kids in the mountains. [Laughter] But if that happens, we will take it as a once in a lifetime experience for us as the filmmakers to experience this life.'
Risks all over the place.
It was a big challenge. We didn't even have enough power to watch playback. We were getting altitude sickness, crew members were getting cabin fever. Being in a place with no electricitiy, no bed, no shower, no contact with your family. But thankfully everything worked out. At the end everyone loved it.
Why did you want to make this movie.
Ugyen (the protagonist teacher) personifies the youth of Bhutan. We have thousands leaving the country for the US, Australia, London. As a Bhutanese I'm worried about where we're heading. We're losing educated capable people. In a way they help Bhutan because they send money back but there's a lot of worry. I wanted to take him in the opposite direction to the most remote place.
The movie is critical of the restlessness of Ugyen and this desire to leave. And yet you describe yourself as a "wanderer" and "world traveller". Can you talk about that friction?
You know, Nathaniel, it's quite interesting. I'm Bhutanese at heart but I feel like I'm a citizen of the world. My father was a diplomat so I grew up everywhere: India, The Middle East, Europe, I did my university in America. Then I studied Buddhism in the mountains. All of us need this wandering spirit. The Buddha says sentient beings are perpetually in movement. Just think about it. From the moment you wake up to the moment you sleep, we're moving. Why? We are always wandering in a way, seeking happiness and belonging.
Another big challenge. You shot with almost all first time actors including Sherab Dorji who plays Ugyen.
Once I write the script I try to find people whose lives mirror the characters. I think Chloe Zhao does this. My hope is that if I cast someone whose life mirrors the character he's just sharing his life. Sherab, who plays Ugyen, I met he was a young singer in the bars. He was so confident about his music that he had dropped out of school. I auditioned him he was talented and had presence. Then he told me he was waiting on his visa to go to Australia.
Which was already in the script.
That sealed the deal -- you're the guy I want! Everyone in Lunana once I lived with them, I kind of incorporated their lives into the script so the script was evolving. I decided to shoot in a linear fashion so that they could grow with the characters so at the end it was genuine crying -- those were not eyedrops.
There's an old hollywood adage 'never work with children or animals'
I've heard that, I've heard that.
... and yet you did both. How about the yak?
Every aspect of the film is inspired by true stories. The yak is an account from a teacher in the Himalayas including the frequent collecting of yak dung, and I thought visually it would be great. Yaks are not domestic animals. They're quite vicious so when I presented the villagers with the idea they were like 'Whoa.' I had to break down a wall to accomodate the yak so the school room is two rooms. But we found the gentlest sweetest yak ever. We were so worried at first about how to get him inside the building but we dangled some grass in front of him and he walked right in and that was it. He was such an important part of the film, but he was already old. He passed away about seven months after the movie was made.
We have to talk about the Oscars. This is only the second time Bhutan has sent a film after The Cup in 1999. And you had to submit twice so the Oscars could reapprove Bhutan for submission it had been so long.
Kyhenste Norbu [Director of The Cup] happens to be my spiritual teacher. I never went to film school. I got into film very late. I was 26 when I first joined a film crew as Norbu's assistant. All the other filmmmakers who make independent art films -- we see him as the person who opened the doors for us. This Oscar shortlisting, for the whole Himalayan region, not only Bhutan, it has given a wave of encouragement. 'We can actually do this.'
You must have known that Hollywood was enjoying your film, though, since you were very well received at Palm Springs a full year ago.
This film has had a very amazing journey. I didn't know if it could be made and then once it was made we had no publicity team. It was just ourselves sending it to different festivals. We got rejected by a bunch but we were lucky to get accepted by a few like London and Bhusan and that's when Film Boutiques picked us up and they were able to help. It's been winning awards and I'm so grateful. What is an artist without the audience? Filmmakers like myself we really depend on the support and recognition from the international audience.
Before we go you have to tell me about your photo op with Ang Lee which you recently posted to Instagram!
[Laughter] Chang Chen, who acted in Dune, is a very good friend of mine. He had just received the Golden Horse for Best Actor. That's where I met Ang Lee and I'm a big fan of his. What's amazing about him is that each film he has made he has pushed himself out of his comfort zone and into a new area: Sense & Sensibility, Hulk, Brokeback Mountain, Life of Pi. I was trying to introduce myself to him and he says 'Oh, you're the director of the yak movie' and I said 'yeah, that's me!' He told me what I've been able to accomplish was very remarkable and it meant a lot.
I understand you're already working on your next movie?
I was so busy working on the new movie until we got shortlisted. That kind of took a backseat now.
Don't get too distracted!
[Laughter] This whole film experience, I'm learning new things each time. When I worked with Khyentse Norbu on Hemma Hemma I learned how festivals work. Then with Lunana I learned how the whole agency system works and now I'm getting an idea of how the American industry works and how funding works.
Your next one is called Once Upon a Time in Bhutan...
Bhutan has an interesting history. We were isolated for centuries. We looked at Tibet gone to China and Sikkim gone to India, countries like ourselves that lost their independence and we closed up to protect our way of life. It was only in the 1970s when we started opening up and believe it or not it was only in 2000 when we allowed television and internet. We were the very last country in the world to allow them. You can just imagine the social dynamics. People who have not seen the outside world and suddenly they wake up to a black box in their room and in that box Eminem is rapping about how he wants to kill his mother. The impact of globalization in Bhutan was drastic and overnight. This movie is about that, this transition from traditional to modern. It's the story of a country that did not want to change but had to change because it found itself in a world that had left it behind. I'm very exctied to start on that.
Good luck with the Oscars!
Pawo collecting yak dung, [image via Instagram]
