‘Improbable Journey’: How a Movie From Tiny Bhutan Got an Oscar Nod
“Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom” was filmed on a shoestring budget in a remote Himalayan village. It’s now an Academy Award nominee, a first for Bhutan. Feb. 12, 2022 The director Pawo Choyning Dorji, right, talked with Pem Zam, a young first-time actress from rural Bhutan, during the shooting of his film “Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom.” Kinley Wangchuk THIMPHU, Bhutan — As a crew of 35 people prepared to make a movie in Bhutan’s remote Lunana Valley, they faced a slew of seemingly insurmountable obstacles. The valley had no electricity. It could only be reached by walking eight days from the nearest village. And the schoolchildren who were expected to star in the film knew nothing about acting or cinema. “They did not even know what a camera was or what it looked like,” Namgay Dorji, the village schoolteacher, said in a telephone interview. On Tuesday, the movie, “ Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom ,” was nominated for an Academy Award — a first for Bhutan. Its director, Pawo Choyning