Lunana - A Yak in the Classroom / Film School Radio interview with Director Pawo Choyning Dorji

In this beautifully rendered gem of a film, Lunana - A Yak in the Classroom, a young teacher in modern Bhutan, Ugyen, shirks his duties while planning to go to Australia to become a singer. As a reprimand, his superiors send him to the most remote school in the world, in a village called Lunana, to complete his service. He finds himself exiled from his Westernized comforts after an arduous 8 day trek just to get there. There he finds no electricity, no textbooks, not even a blackboard. Though poor, the villagers extend a warm welcome to their new teacher, but he faces the daunting task of teaching the village children without any supplies. He wants to quit and go home, but he begins to learn of the hardship in the lives of the beautiful children he teaches, and begins to be transformed through the amazing spiritual strength of the villagers. Director and writer Pawo Choyning Dorji stops by to talk about his home country of Bhutan and his nation's aspirational motto "Gross National Happiness", the challenges of making a film in a community with no modern utilities and the joy that comes from facilitating a spectrum of disarming performances from people who had never seen a film before his arrival. For more go to: samuelgoldwynfilms.com/lunana-a-yak-in-the-classroom filmsboutique.com/news/post/lunana-shortlisted-for-the-oscars Shortlisted for the International Feature Film Academy Award, First Bhutanese Film to Submit for Oscar in 23 Years