With no film industry to speak of, and limited funds to make a movie in one of the most remote places on earth, young Bhutanese director-writer Pawo Choyning Dorji pulled off a miracle with his first feature, Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom, which came out of nowhere to get an Oscar nomination for Best International Feature (formerly Best Foreign Language Film) in 2019. It was a charmer of a movie set in a village in Bhutan with no connection to the outside world and where a young teacher must decide whether he wants to stay and teach the kids or follow his dreams to Australia.

If I were a betting man — which I am — I would venture to say that with his second film The Monk and the Gun, which just had its world premiere at the Telluride Film Festival this weekend and goes on to Toronto next week, will see the director back at the Dolby Theatre come next March. No sophomore jinx here, this one is even better than his first, and that is saying something.

‘The Monk And The Gun’ Review/Interview: Bhutan Director Pawo Choyning Dorji’s 2nd Film Even Tops The Oscar-Nominated ‘Lunana: A Yak In The Classroom’ – Telluride Film Festival