The Cup

Since the Chinese invasion of Tibet in the 1950s, more than 1,2 million Tibetans have been murdered, and more than 10.000 of Tibet’s convents have been demolished. Because of these events, many young Tibetans have been sent abroad to complete their education as monks.

The two young boys Palden and Nyima are amongst those who flee from Tibet across the border to India, and end up in a convent at the foot of the Himalayas. Their days are filled with prayer and teaching, under strict supervision from the older monks. But convent or not, the year is 1998 and the international frenzy surrounding the world championship of football reaches even the quietest place on Earth, turning the lives of the young monks-in-training upside down!

Oslo Cinematheque

Director

Khyentse Norbu (b. 1961) is one of Bhutan's most prominent filmmakers, and also known as the third incarnation of the reformer Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo. His debut The Cup (1999) became an international sensation. When Bernardo Bertolucci made Little Buddha in the early 90s, Norbu was hired as a consultant.

This film is part of