Tharlo(HKAFF 2016)

Considered the first Tibetan director, Pema Tseden (Old Dog) is committed to portraying authentic Tibetan culture and life on screen. Based on his own novella, the beautifully austere black-and-white Tharlo explores the conflict of traditional and modern values through the experience of its eponymous protagonist, a simple-hearted shepherd played by renowned comedian Shide Nyima. Tharlo, who lives a solitary life in the mountains, makes the long trip to town in order to get an ID card, as ordered by the police chief. Told to tidy up for the ID photo, he goes to the barber shop and becomes smitten with the young hairdresser who introduces him to the possibility of a different life he has never known.