Kushuthara

2017, Karma Deki, Bhutan, 70 min.

The Bhutanese film Kushuthara, which means “love token woven in cloth,” receives its US premiere at the Rubin Museum followed by a discussion with the filmmaker, Karma Deki, and the film’s male lead, Emrhys Cooper.

The film is set in staggeringly beautiful scenery in parts of the Himalayas that are usually inaccessible to foreigners and stars Bhutan’s beloved actress Kezang Wangmo, who plays a skilled weaver, and Cooper as a Western journalist. Through their love story, the film explores the Buddhist concept of karma and the possibility of the rebirth of two people to accomplish what was left unrealized in a previous life.

Bhutan, a tiny landlocked country nestled in the Himalayas known for its measurement of Gross National Happiness, has a population of less than one million people but a thriving film industry, which punches well above its weight. Winner of many international awards, Kushuthara has been hailed as an artistic break from mainstream Bhutanese cinema and for highlighting aspects of traditional village culture by focusing on Bhutan’s notable weaving tradition.

About the Speakers

Emrhys Cooper is a British trained actor who recently played Montgomery Clift in the Frank Sinatra biopic Frank & Ava, and will appear in the upcoming remake of Nosferatu. He has also been in the Stylehaul/Amazon series Vanity, in the CBS TV series Person of Interest, and in the hit movie Mamma Mia.

Karma Deki is one of the leading directors in the Kingdom of Bhutan. Since graduating from the New York Film Academy she directed two uniquely Bhutanese films: Dangphu, which depicted the impact of unfairly heavy taxes on several low-paid workers, and Four Friends, which follows the collaborative friendship in a forest between an elephant, a rabbit, a monkey, and a partridge.