Honeygiver Among the Dogs

World premiere: Busan IFF 2016
European premiere: Berlinale IFF 2017

11th Five Flavours Asian Film Festival - New Asian Cinema Competition

Awards: Fribourg IFF 2017 - Special Jury Award, Don Quixote Award, The Youth Jury Award COMUNDO;

The grumpy policeman Kinley is investigating the case of a missing prioress of a monastery hidden deep in the Bhutanese forests. The locals point his attention to a charming newcomer, living by herself, whom they accuse of demonic tendencies. Kinley follows her trace, increasingly intrigued by the mysterious figure and her stories, which come from the corner of reality he has always cynically dismissed.

The film by the young Bhutanese director is an original combination of a noir crime story, the poetics of Buddhist tales, and a realistic portrait of modern Bhutan. In her script, Roden uses motifs from the stories of daikinis, enlightened women and female Buddhas, personifications of female sexual energy, who convey the wisdom and the traditions of past generations, often accused of using dark magic. Another protagonist of the story is the bewitching mountain landscape, in which the characters are seeking the truth and getting to know each other. The background for plot is the social and political reality of the country, which is developing dynamically while trying to save the most important elements of its cultural identity.

Dechen Roder tells a modern story, putting it in the context of the words of the Buddhist teachers who conveyed their knowledge and skills to the next generations of women. The title of the film is a reference to the story from the life of Yeshe Tsogyal, the mother of Tibetan Buddhism, also known as the Wisdom Lake Queen. She was the closest disciple of Padmasambhawa, the founder of this religious school and the first person in Tibet who achieved full enlightenment.

DECHEN RODER

Director born in Bhutan in 1980. Since 2004, she has been directing short films and documentaries, broadcast in Bhutanese public television. Her short features were shown at film festivals in Hong Kong, Brussels, Berlin, Melbourne, and Palm Springs. She is a co-founder of the first Bhutanese documentary and short film festival Beskop Tshechu. "Honeygiver Among the Dogs" (2016) is her feature debut.

Filmography:

CAST AND CREDITS

director: Dechen Roder
screenplay: Dechen Roder
cinematography: Jigme T. Tenzing
editing: Dechen Roder
music: Tashi Dorji
cast: Jamyang Jamtsho Wangchuk, Sonam Tashi Choden, Kunga T. Dorji, Cencho Dorji, Deki Yangchen
producer: Dechen Roder, Esther Koo
production: Dakinny Productions, Meridian Entertainment
language: dzongkha
colouration: colour
subtitles: Polish and English

Polish distributor: Pięć Smaków Kino Azji
available formats: DCP, Bluray