Jinpa
Film description
It is improbable to meet anybody on the colourless Tibetan plateau Kekexili, the largest and highest situated in the world. So this day is unusual for Jinpa, a solitary driver who conquers the harsh landscape in his truck filled with sounds of “O sole mio” played from a worn-out cassette tape. An eternal hippie in sunglasses always covering his eyes first accidentally kills a sheep and then offers a ride to a lonely wandering traveller. The reticent passenger's name is also Jinpa and before he gets off at the road fork, he reveals that he set off on his journey to kill a man. The driver cannot forget this declaration and decides to follow his mysterious namesake.
Produced by Wong Kar-wai, the film is yet another original triumph for the Tibetan Pema Tseden, whose "Tharlo" won a number of awards at world festivals (including the NETPAC award at the 10th Five Flavours). Built from picturesque frames composed poetically by Lu Songye, "Jinpa" is a mystical meditation on human fate, life and death, infused with soothing melancholy and gentle humour. The film, which features elements of road movie and western, won Best Screenplay award in the Orrizzonti section of Venice Film Festival, where it had its premiere.
Marcin Krasnowolski
Pema Tseden
A Tibetan director, writer and screenwriter, born in 1969. The first Tibetan who completed education in the prestigious Beijing Film Academy. His feature debut, "The Silent Holy Stones", was the first film shot in the Tibetan language, with all-Tibetan film crew. His films were presented and awarded at numerous international festivals, including Bangkok, Taipei, Locarno, Hong Kong, Tokyo and Venice. He published more than 50 narratives and novels, written both in Tibetan and Mandarin, which were translated into a number of other languages.
2005 Lhing vjags kyi ma ni rdo vbum / The Silent Holy Stone
2009 Poszukiwana / Xunzhao zhimei gengdeng / The Search
2009 Flames Wafting in 1983
2010 Khyi rgan / Old Dog
2014 Yangdar / The Sacred Arrow
2015 Tharlo
2018 Jinpa / Zhuang si le yi zhi yang / Jinpa
2019 Balon / Qi qiu / Balloon
Festival guests
Pema Tseden
director