Cinema as Dharma

1999 · Feature Film

The Cup

Set in a Tibetan Buddhist monastery in exile in India, The Cup follows young monks obsessed with the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The film is a warm, humorous exploration of how ancient traditions collide with modern obsessions — a microcosm of the human condition caught between devotion and desire.

The first Bhutanese film ever made, it premiered at Cannes and brought international attention to Himalayan cinema. Beneath its gentle comedy lies a profound meditation on attachment and the monk's path.

2003 · Feature Film

Travellers and Magicians

A young government official in Bhutan dreams of escaping to America. While hitchhiking, he meets a monk who tells him a cautionary tale — a story within a story that mirrors his own restless desire. Shot entirely in Bhutan, the film is a visual poem about longing, grass-is-greener fantasies, and the magic hidden in the present moment.

2013 · Feature Film

Vara: A Blessing

Set in South India's temple culture, Vara examines caste, devotion, and the intersection of sacred and profane. A devadasi (temple dancer) navigates the collision between ancient ritual tradition and modern societal pressures. The film is a deeply sensory, meditative exploration of how spiritual practice becomes entangled with power, gender, and identity.

2016 · Feature Film

Hema Hema:
Sing Me a Song While I Wait

In a mysterious forest ritual, participants don masks and shed their identities. Anonymity unleashes hidden desires, jealousies, and violence. Hema Hema is Rinpoche's most abstract and visually daring work — a Jungian exploration of ego, identity, and the terror of true selflessness that lies at the heart of Buddhist practice.

2019 · Feature Film

Looking for a Lady
with Fangs and a Moustache

A young man in Kathmandu is told by a Buddhist oracle that he will die in seven days unless he finds a lady with fangs and a moustache. The search takes him through the chaotic streets of Nepal in a surreal, often comic journey that blurs the line between prophecy, absurdity, and spiritual awakening. The film operates on multiple levels — a thriller, a comedy, and a teaching on impermanence all at once.