Lunana: A Yak in the Classroom (Bhutan) (17/24)

The surprise International Feature nominee from last year’s Oscars was this charming Bhutanese film. While dozens of countries have won Best International Feature Oscars (Italy alone has won 14 times), the tiny Asian country of Bhutan has yet to win an Oscar. In fact, this was only the second film they’d ever submitted to the Academy, so its nomination alone was quite remarkable. The film follows Ugyen, a young teacher in training who would much rather move to Australia to be a singer than teach. As a result of his lackluster performance, he’s sent to train in a high altitude, poor community. The town doesn’t have enough money for a designated school building, so he must teach the children in a classroom that doubles as a yak pen. The delightful, feel-good saga is certainly a crowdpleaser, and if you (like me) knew nothing of Bhutan, the film paints an interesting picture of an often cinematically overlooked region.