Awards and festivals

Film description

Every 12 years, a group of anonymous people meets in the mountain wilderness to spend two weeks meditating and discovering their limits, and to take part in a religious cleansing ritual. Even though their temporary camp has a set of strict rules, some of the participants also delve into the darkest corners of the mind.

A visually stunning, avant-garde drama, combining the traditions of a Shakespearean tragedy with Buddhist tales of death and desire. When transferred into a space governed by its own rules, the simple, everyday events become metaphors. Yet, the director does not formulate any clear answers, leaving the audiences lots of space for interpretation.

Khyentse Norbu, a director fulfilling important spiritual roles in the Buddhist community, does not use the film didactically as a means to convey the traditional teachings. Instead, he points to different paths and tropes, often in a fairly unexpected manner. The director consciously uses film form to create an unsettling, hypnotic story about human passions.

Jagoda Murczyńska