| English | Dzongkha | Wednesday, April 14, 2021 |
After the first case of COVID-19 in the country in March last year, the government directed the closure of all entertainment centres. And more than ten months later, most owners of such entertainment centres are now struggling to make ends meet. In Gelegphu, the owners are now served eviction notices after failing to pay rent for almost eight months.
A popular actor, Karma Choechong died this morning at the Jigme Dorji Wangchuck National Referral Hospital in Thimphu. The 37-year-old actor succumbed to a severe head injury. According to the sources, he suffered the injury after accidentally falling off a horse while shooting a movie in Saephu in Wangdue Phodrang recently.
The Prime Minister’s conditional offer to re-open the drayangs with certain reforms is not well received by the owners. They are especially not in for doing away with the ‘request system.’ In a meeting with the drayang owners earlier this month, Prime Minister Dr Lotay Tshering asked them to alter the request practice where the women need to make contact to request patrons and suggested arranging salary system for the employees.
Bhutanese Film Industry turns 20 with over 500 films. With pure passion and dedication although void of proper film and acting schools, heavily influenced by Bollywood yet uniquely Bhutanese in its cinematic expression, the Film Association of Bhutan have come a long way.
Sustainability of the Film Association of Bhutan (FAB) Secretariat is one of the challenges faced by the Association. To address this, the existing members decided to create a trust fund to support the functioning and programs, as FAB celebrates its 20th anniversary this month.
Despite an increasing international interest to co-produce films in Bhutan, the Bhutanese Film Industry is not able to work together with international investors due to the absence of a co-production guideline in the country.
Despite the small market and requirement of funds while bringing out a book, a number of Bhutanese writers are writing novels and compiling a collection of short stories. This is a positive sign for the growth of literary culture in the country.
‘Tsip Choelo -The Vested Astrologer’ won the best film award at the 18th National Film Awards 2019. The award function was held on February 21 to celebrate the His Majesty The King’s birthday and for the tireless and selfless services of armed forces in the country.
A two-day Bhutanese film festival is underway in Gangtok Sikkim, India. The Bhutan Film Association (BFA) is organising the film festival for the first time outside Bhutan.
Over the past few years, music in Bhutan has seen tremendous change giving listeners the choice to listen to different genres of music. And this change has brought in the trend of creativity and originality, thus giving rise to independent music in the country.