MASIFF - The Monk and the Gun

The inaugural Mparntwe Alice Springs International Film Festival (MASIFF) will take over Araluen Arts Centre, the Alice Springs Cinema and Alice Springs Desert Park to bring the best of local and international film to the Red Centre from 3 to 13 October 2024.
Brought to you by Red Hot Arts, with support from Darwin International Film Festival (DIFF) and the Darwin Film Society, MASIFF shines a light on global stories while celebrating the diverse communities of Mparntwe Alice Springs.

The festival offers a cinematic journey for everyone! Whether you’re a film enthusiast, a filmmaker, or simply seeking new perspectives, join us for an unforgettable lineup of films.
MASIFF gratefully acknowledges the support of the NT Government Community Benefit Fund and Regional Arts Fund in launching this new initiative.

Visit www.masiff.com.au  for full program details.

MASIFF - THE MONK AND THE GUN

Director: Pawo Choyning Dorji
Year: 2023
Rating: PG13
Run time: 107 mins
Country: Bhutan
Genre: Religion and Belief
Language: Dzongkha and English with English subtitles

From Oscar-nominated director Pawo Choyning Dorji comes his latest captivating film, set in the weeks before Bhutan's historic first democratic election in 2006.

It’s a moment of upheaval in this highly religious state, a former monarchy, and trouble brews when an elderly monk purchases two guns…

Is “political freedom” worth the cost of familial or social discord? When Bhutan’s king abdicates in favour of democratic reform, a strange series of events unfolds, where the old and the new collide in wondrous fashion. When young monk Tashi’s lama (Buddhist master) asks him to procure a pair of guns in advance of their country’s first mock election – to “set it right”, whatever that means – he doesn’t ask questions, he simply strolls off into the unspoiled countryside towards neighbouring Ura village. One problem: Tashi has never seen a gun before!

Balancing the contrasts between tradition and modernization, city and rural life, this film weaves a colourful tapestry of Bhutan’s relatively recent democratic transition, gilded all round with a subtle comedic edge. Forget understanding the electoral process, bemused villagers struggle to even fathom the need for the proposed changes in government, while a confused American arms dealer may get more (and less) than he bargains for. Dorji’s (Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom) satire may be gentle rather than sharp, yet The Monk and the Gun effectively skewers “democracy” and “modernity” as Western cultural constructs; exploring how an indigenous approach to applying these concepts might be taken, carrying culture and values intact into the future. — Jacob Powell

Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the Rome Film Festival and the Audience Choice Award at the Vancouver International Film Festival.

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