Bhutanese film Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom has been nominated for Best International Feature at the Academy Awards. The Bhutanese director Pawo Dhoyning Dorji is the son-in-law of famous Taiwanese Playwright-Director Stan Lai, who founded the acclaimed theater group Performance Workshop.
Lai’s daughter, Taiwanese American Stephanie Lai is the film’s producer and Dorji’s wife. She was delighted at the news and says she hopes the whole family can come to attend the Oscars ceremony.
Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom is centered on a young teacher from Bhutan who dreams of becoming a singer in Australia but finds himself assigned to a school in a remote village in northern Bhutan. Dorji said the nomination is a historic first for Bhutan, a small but very special country with “so much wisdom and compassion” to share with the rest of the world.
The film is the first full-length movie that Dorji directed. It won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film and the Best of the Fest at the 2020 Palm Springs International Film Festival as well as top awards at film festivals in Italy and France.