Balloon
Film description
Two brothers run on the meadows surrounding Lake Qinghai, always waving in the penetrating wind. Little scamps dream of balloons, but until their father brings the promised toys, they settle for inflated condoms - the last pieces found under their parents' pillow. The existence of a three-generation family, grazing a flock of sheep, seems to consist of such simple situations, and is regulated by the rhythm of beautiful but harsh nature. However, there is another powerful factor that will have a dramatic impact on their lives: the policy of one child, introduced with absolute consistency by China, colliding with the traditions of the protagonists. The lack of condoms provokes events that will determine the future of the family, revealing different needs and desires of its members.
Wise and full of lyrical humour, "Balloon" is another film after "Jinpa" that confirms the excellent form of the Tibetan director and strengthens him as an ambassador of this cinematography. Tseden again manages to capture in his lenses the firmly rooted traditions of his homeland and Buddhist mentality of its inhabitants. Without giving up ethnographic elements, he focuses on a fascinating story about vital choices of ordinary people. On the screen, among many non-professionals, appear also actors known from "Jinpa": Sonam Wangmo and Jinpa. Lu Songye, the cinematographer responsible for the visual side of "Jinpa" and "Tharlo", is again in charge of the magical cinematography.
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