Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom

A city-loving teacher struggling for inspiration travels to the most remote school in the world in this quietly majestic Academy Award-nominated drama.

Struggling with his chosen profession, Ugyen (Sherab Dorji, leading a cast of young first-time actors) is disappointed to learn that in his final year of training he’ll be sent to Lunana, in northern Bhutan – a staggering seven-day walk from the nearest drop off point. The high altitude and lack of amenities finds Ugyen wanting to leave almost as soon as he arrives, despite a warm and enthusiastic reception. But the local children don’t have long to win him over – he must decide whether to stay or go before the punishing winter reaches this glacial part of the Himalayas.

Filmed using cameras operating on solar-powered batteries, and the first Bhutanese film to be nominated for an Academy Award, this is a quietly majestic drama that provides insight into a part of the world rarely seen on the screen.