The Cup (1999 film)
The Cup (ཕོར་པ། or Phörpa) is a 1999 Tibetan-language film directed by Khyentse Norbu. The plot involves two young football-crazed Tibetan refugee novice monks in a remote Himalayan monastery in India who desperately try to obtain a television for the monastery to watch the 1998 World Cup final.
| The Cup | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | Khyentse Norbu |
| Produced by | Jeremy Thomas Raymond Steiner Malcolm Watson |
| Written by | Khyentse Norbu |
| Starring | Orgyen Tobgyal, Neten Chokling |
| Distributed by | Palm Pictures Fine Line Features (USA) Festival Media (USA DVD) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | Bhutan |
| Language | Hindi, Tibetan |
Production
The movie was shot in the Tibetan refugee village Bir in India (Himachal Pradesh) (almost entirely between Chokling Gompa and Elu Road).[1]
Producer Jeremy Thomas had developed a relationship with Norbu when he was an advisor on Bertolucci's Little Buddha.[2] Thomas later remembered his experience making the film:
The director Khyentse Norbu is a Tibetan Lama who went to NYC film school, who wanted to make a movie, and I had become friendly with him. There was this charming story, which was a teaching for him but a story for everyone else, about little monks and the World Cup. It was shown in Director’s Fortnight at Cannes, and we brought a lot of the Tibetans to the screening and it was well received and sold all over the world. It was a very happy story for everybody involved.[2]
Release
The Cup was released to DVD on November 13, 2007 in North America by Festival Media (IBFF). The DVD was mastered from a new direct-to-digital transfer from the original film, and includes a bonus documentary entitled Inside The Cup, featuring the director discussing the film, cinema in general and Buddhist philosophy, along with outtakes from the film. There is also a director's commentary audio track.
See also
- List of submissions to the 72nd Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
- List of Bhutanese submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
- Susan Jakes (January 27, 2003). "The God of Small Films". Time Magazine. Retrieved 2009-06-13.
- Thomas, Jeremy; Lieberson, Sanford (2006-04-11). ""At the Cutting Edge" – Producer Jeremy Thomas, interviewed by producer Sandy Lieberson". Berlinale Talent Campus. Archived from the original on 2010-05-24. Retrieved 2010-04-03.