World premiere
I, the Song
A tale of Buddhist karma, doppelgangers and melancholic Dzongkha songs.
In Bhutan, a country of 700,000 people, everyone knows everyone else. Nima, a schoolteacher, faces trouble when an explicit intimate video surfaces online, featuring a woman who looks exactly like her. Determined to calm her students’ outraged parents, Nima embarks on a quest to find her naughty lookalike. But her doppelganger, Meto, has disappeared without a trace. The locals, struck by Nima’s uncanny resemblance to Meto, begin to believe she is Meto’s long-lost ghost. The village elders suggest singing Aum Tshomo’s sacred song to unravel the mystery. Now, Nima must open her heart and sing to rebuild her shattered life.
Actress Tandin Bidha, who takes on a dual role, shines especially bright as the vibrant doppelganger Meto. This intriguing film, inspired by true events, shifts between past and present, illuminated by Bhutanese culture, customs, and colours.
Edvinas Pukšta
Dechen Roder (1980) is one of the first female directors from the Kingdom of Bhutan. She started making small documentaries and videos in 2009 through her production company – Dakinny Productions. “Honeygiver Among the Dogs” (2017) is her debut feature film, which premiered at the Busan International Film Festival 2017, had its European premiere at Berlinale 2017, and won three awards at the Fribourg International Film Festival 2017. It was also the first film from Bhutan to be nominated for the Pacific Screen Award 2017 (also known as the Asian Oscar) in the Cultural Diversity category. She is also the co-founder and organiser of the only film festival in Bhutan – the Beskop Tshechu Film Festival.
Munmo tashi khyidron (Honeygiver Among the Dogs, 2016), I, the Song (2024)