Director

The Cup is a charming and refreshing yet also tender and wise feature, in which spiritual and earthly life are interwoven in an appealing way. It is the first feature ever to emerge from little Bhutan. The director Khyentse Norbu is one of the most important lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. At the age of seven he was regarded as the reincarnation of a nineteenth- century saint. At present he is spiritual leader in two meditation centres. Norbu learned the art of film from Bernardo Bertolucci when he was making his Little Buddha. The film tells the true story of two boys, Palden and Nyima, who have been sent to a remote Tibetan monastery outside the borders of Tibet, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Their family wanted to be sure that their sons would have an education without trouble with Chinese intervention. Once in the monastery, the boys meet the soccer-crazy Orgyen, one of the younger, more worldly monks. Orgyen regularly crawls out of his bed at night to cycle to the local village, where he can watch the World Cup via a satellite dish. When the inauguration formalities are over, the boys are also gripped by the soccer virus. Their determination to see the final causes a stir in the monastery.

Director		Khyentse Norbu
	Duration (minutes)		93
	Country , Year		Bhutan;Australie , 1999
	Theme programme		main programme features
	Cast		Jamyang Lodro;Orgyen Tobgyal;Neten Chokling;Lama Chonjor
	Scenario		Khyentse Norbu
	Camera		Paul Warren
	Music		Douglas Mills
	Editing		John Scott

	Sales		Hanway

The Cup is a charming and refreshing yet also tender and wise feature, in which spiritual and earthly life are interwoven in an appealing way. It is the first feature ever to emerge from little Bhutan. The director Khyentse Norbu is one of the most important lamas in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition. At the age of seven he was regarded as the reincarnation of a nineteenth- century saint. At present he is spiritual leader in two meditation centres. Norbu learned the art of film from Bernardo Bertolucci when he was making his Little Buddha. The film tells the true story of two boys, Palden and Nyima, who have been sent to a remote Tibetan monastery outside the borders of Tibet, in the foothills of the Himalayas. Their family wanted to be sure that their sons would have an education without trouble with Chinese intervention. Once in the monastery, the boys meet the soccer-crazy Orgyen, one of the younger, more worldly monks. Orgyen regularly crawls out of his bed at night to cycle to the local village, where he can watch the World Cup via a satellite dish. When the inauguration formalities are over, the boys are also gripped by the soccer virus. Their determination to see the final causes a stir in the monastery.