The Red Phallus

Generation 14plus 2019

‘Don’t assume my silence is empty.’

Demons in blood-red masks stalk 16-year-old Sangay through the village at the foot of the awe-inspiring Himalayas. Her father is an artisan who holds fast to the old ways, carving phalli from wood to ward off evil spirits. He wants to protect his daughter from harm, which he does by controlling her every move. This becomes all the more pronounced once he hears of her secret affair with a married man from a lower social class, who in turn keeps pressuring her to run off to the city with him. Sangay responds with the courage to look behind the fearsome masks. Its rhythm archaic, its imagery imposing and its outcome drastic, Tashi Gyeltshen’s radical feature debut portrays one girl's bitter struggle to assert her own identity and independence.

by Tashi Gyeltshen
with Tshering Euden, Singye, Dorji Gyeltshen Bhutan / Germany / Nepal 2018 Dzongkha 82’ Colour

With

Tshering Euden (Sangay)
Singye (Passa)
Dorji Gyeltshen (Ap Atsara)

Crew

Written and Directed by	Tashi Gyeltshen
Cinematography	Jigme T. Tenzing
Editing	Saman Alvitigala
Music	Jigme Drukpa, Frances-Marie Uitti
Sound Design	Niraj Gera
Sound Mixing	Mickey Macachor
Colourist	Sidharth Meer
Production Design	Karma Tenzin
Production Manager	Tshewang Dendup
Assistant Director	Kelzang Dorjee
Producers	Tashi Gyeltshen, Kristina Konrad, Ram Krishna Pokharel

World sales

Asian Shadows

Produced by

Studio 108

Zoom Out Productions

weltfilm

http://www.weltfilm.com http://www.weltfilm.com

Icefall Productions

Photos

Tashi Gyeltshen

Born in Bhutan in 1972, he is a journalist and writer who worked for various newspapers in Bhutan before teaching himself filmmaking. His first short film, Girl with a Red Sky (2009) was commissioned by UNICEF. In 2010, he won the Best Screenplay Award at the Bhutan National Film Awards for the film Sem Gi Jurwa. After making a documentary, his third short, The Red Door (2014) premiered at the International Film Festival Rotterdam. The Red Phallus won the Open Doors Grant at the Locarno Film Festival.

Filmography

2008 The Girl With a Red Sky; short film 2010 A Forgotten Story; short film 2011 Taekwondo in Bhutan; documentary 2014 The Red Door; short film 2018 The Red Phallus

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2019