About.
Company
New Zealand International Film Festival
Duration
96 minutes
Advisory
M Violence, sexual violence & sex scenes | In Bhutanese with English subtitles | Cinemascope
Bhutan/Hong Kong 2016
Bhuddhist lama and filmmaker Khyentse Norbu (The Cup, Travellers and Magicians) takes us deep into the jungle of Bhutan to imagine a ritual – part performance festival, part boot camp – where participants obscure gender and identity behind fearsome masks. “You are here to prepare for the gap between death and birth,” the elder explains. “You are here to find out who you really are.” Inspired by the concept of the bardo, a state through which departed souls pass before entering their next incarnation, Hema Hema is a colourful plunge into a world where ancient rites conjure our noblest or our basest instincts.
“While Hema Hema may seem like an adaptation of an ancient Bhutanese ritual, in fact it is an original story by Norbu, who is the third incarnated lama of a strand of Tibetan Buddhism. Under his immaculate cinematic guidance – the film’s jungle colors are vibrant, its camera lucid and mobile, the masks a delight, the editing is by 5th Generation Chinese director Tian Zhuangzhuang, and even Tony Leung Chiu-wai is hidden behind one of the masks – it does indeed narrate with the vivid, timeless, pared clarity of an old legend.” — Daniel Kasman, Mubi
Credits.
Khyentse Norbu
Director/Screenplay
Pawo Choyning Dorji, Sarah Chen
Producers
Jigme Tenzing
Photography
Tian Zhuangzhuang, Li Gen
Editors
Gary Azukx Dyson
Music
With.
Tshering Dorji
Sadon Lhamo
Thinley Dorji
Zhou Xun
Festivals.
Locarno, Toronto, Busan, London 2016
Book
Tickets.
Tickets.
Price Range - Booking fees may apply $11.30 - $17.30