Ugyen, an aspiring young singer, longs to escape Bhutan and move to Australia to pursue a  career in music. Still having one year left to complete his mandatory five-year government contract as a school teacher, he is not best pleased when his superiors order him to take a teaching post in the remote, isolated village of Lunana in the shadow of the Himalayas. Nor does an arduous eight-day hike to reach his destination and its lack of facilities when he arrives do anything to improve his mood. This unwelcome event nevertheless leads to a life changing experience.

Nearly all the actors in Lunana are highlanders, many of whom had never seen the outside world. They had never seen a film or cameras before and the director and crew loaded 65 mules with equipment for the eight-day trek up the mountains to undertake filming.

A gentle, uplifting and visually stunning film from the country that measures national productivity in a happiness index, Lunana went on to garner 20 awards worldwide and became the first Bhutanese film to be nominated for the Best International Feature Film at the 2022 Oscars.

https://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk/

Bhutan (2019)

Tickets:

Adults: £5

Full time students: £3

Free to RFS members.

Tickets for non-members will be made available on August 14th.

About Richmond Film Society

Richmond Film Society was formed in 1963 and has since screened over 860 films. Our objective was, and remains, to bring our community the very best in World Cinema. Our seasons run from September to June and attract an aggregate audience approaching 4,500 attendees. Season 60 will comprise 19 films of international repute, including features from Europe, Africa, North and South America, South and East Asia and the Middle East.

Films are shown on alternate Tuesdays at 8:00 pm sharp, with no ads or trailers. On screening nights, the bar opens at 7:00 p.m. and drinks can be brought into the auditorium. Film notes are available online for each screening and audience scores and feedback are collated.

For further information on RFS and the programme of films, please visit http://www.richmondfilmsoc.org.uk. You can also follow on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/RichmondFilmSociety/ , on Twitter at https://twitter.com/Richmond_Film and on Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/richmondfilmsociety/

Season 60 Membership

Seasonal membership is being held at £40 for the 19 films (the 1999 price), an equivalent of £2.11 per film. For full time students, membership is offered at the concessionary rate of £25. The Existing Members ‘loyalty renewal window’ for Season 60 runs to the end of July.

Following expiration of the priority renewal period for existing Season 59

members, memberships will be offered to those on our waiting list. If you are a non-member and would like to be added to the waiting list for next season, please email us at admin@richmondfilmsoc.org.uk with your name, address and telephone number. Alternatively, you can email us via the ‘Contact Us’ section of our website.

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Owing to capacity issues and our membership cap, we have not been able to open

membership up to the general public for to the last two seasons, so please

do get in touch if you are interested in joining.

Non-Member Tickets – on sale from 14 August

We intend to around 60 non-member tickets  available to purchase for individual screenings in Season 60, with tickets for the first four screenings going on sale at The Exchange from 14 August. Non-member tickets will remain at £5 (full-time students £3) and can be purchased in advance from The Exchange’s Box Office online at http://exchangetwickenham.co.uk/events, by telephone 020 8240 2399 or in person. To ensure that you secure a ticket and avoid disappointment, we strongly recommend early pre-booking via The Exchange once tickets become available for sale.

Should any non-member tickets remain available on the night of screenings, these can be now be purchased solely from The Exchange’s box office on the ground floor. Purchases are now by contactless payments only.