Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait
Press Play to start
Online Availability
Additional Materials
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.
The film was screened at the 11th edition of Five Flavours.
text:
Jagoda Murczyńska
Khyentse Norbu
Khyentse Norbu (Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche), born in Bhutan in 1961, is a Tibetan lama, writer and filmmaker who approaches cinema as a space for reflecting on Buddhism and human nature. At the age of seven, he was recognised as the third incarnation of the master Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. He studied in monasteries, attended SOAS in London, and later studied filmmaking in the United States. In 1993, he served as a consultant to Bernardo Bertolucci on “Little Buddha”. His feature debut, “The Cup” (1999), about young Tibetan monks fascinated by football, was the first Bhutanese feature film and brought him international recognition. In “Travellers and Magicians” (2003), “Hema Hema” (2016), “Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache” (2019) and “Pig at the Crossing” (2024), he combines local stories with meditations on desire, identity and spirituality.
1999 Puchar Himalajów / Phörpa / The Cup
2003 Podróżnicy i magowie / Chang Hup Thengi Thruel Nang / Travellers and Magicians
2013 Vara: A Blessing
2016 Hema Hema / Hema Hema / Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait
2019 Looking for a Lady with Fangs and a Moustache
2024 Pig at the Crossing
