Tharlo

Tharlo
Tharlo
Directed by	Pema Tseden
Written by	Pema Tseden
Produced by	Wu Leilei ; Wang Xuebo ; Zhang Xianmin
Starring	Shide Nyima
Cinematography	Lu Songye
Edited by	Song Bing
Music by	Wang Jue
Production; companies	Heaven Pictures (Beijing) Culture & Media Co., Ltd. ; Beijing YiHe Star Film Production Ltd. ; Beijing Ocean & Time Culture Communication Co, Ltd
Distributed by	Beijing Herui Film Icarus Films
Release dates	September 5, 2015 (Venice); December 9, 2016 (China);
Running time	123 minutes
Country	China
Language	Tibetan
Box office	CN¥949,000

Tharlo (Chinese: 塔洛) is a 2015 Chinese Tibetan-language comedy-drama film written and directed by Pema Tseden.^[3] It premiered in the Horizons section at the 72nd edition of the Venice Film Festival.^[5] It was released in China on December 9, 2016, and on DVD by Icarus Films on February 14, 2017.^[4]

Plot

Sheep herder Tharlo (Shide Nyima), commonly known as "Ponytail" for his trademark hairstyle, goes to town to get an ID card photo as ordered by police chief Dorje (Tashi). Having lived all his life alone in the mountains, he is shocked to meet a modern young hairdresser Yangtso (Yang Shik Tso), who not only sports short hair but smokes. Yangtso flirts and even suggests travelling with him. He gets drunk at a karaoke bar and ends up spending the night at her home.

Tharlo returns to the mountains but not for long. One day, he gets drunk again and a number of the sheep he tends are killed by wolves, which angers the sheep owner, who scolds and slaps him repeatedly. Soon, Tharlo returns to town with a large stack of cash from selling the sheep, places the money in front of Yangtso, and tells her to keep it. She asks to shave his head so that he won't be recognized and he agrees. But his desire for a new life with her is dashed when he wakes up the next morning to find her missing.

After failing to find her, Tharlo calls on chief Dorje at the police station. However, before he can reveal the purpose of his visit, the chief orders him to go to town again and get another ID card photo because the bald Tharlo looks different from his new ID card photo. Speechless, Tharlo walks out of the police station and heads back into the mountains. After his motorbike runs out of gas, he begins drinking again, then lights a firecracker in his hand. Just before it explodes, the screen goes black.^[6]^[7]^[8]^[9]^[10]

Cast

Shide Nyima as Tharlo
Yang Shik Tso as Yangtso
Tashi as Police chief Dorje
Jinpa as Sheep owner
Dekyi Tserang as singer (Special appearance)

Reception

Box office

The film grossed CN¥949,000 at the Chinese box office.^[4]

Accolades

Date	Award	Category	Nominee	Result	Notes
2015	72nd Venice International Film Festival	Venice Horizons Award	Tharlo	Nominated
	52nd Golden Horse Film Festival and Awards	Best Director	Pema Tseden	Nominated
		Best Adapted Screenplay	Tharlo	Won
		Best Feature Film		Nominated
	16th International Film Festival Tokyo Filmex	Grand Prize		Won
	16th International Film Festival Tokyo Filmex	Student Jury Prize		Won	^[11]
2016	23rd Beijing College Student Film Festival	Artistic Exploration Award		Won
		Best Picture		Nominated
		Best Director	Pema Tseden	Nominated
2017	17th Chinese Film Media Awards	Best Film	Tharlo	Nominated	^[12]
		Best Director	Pema Tseden	Nominated
		Best Actor	Shide Nyima	Nominated
		Best Screenplay	Pema Tseden	Nominated
		Best New Performer	Shide Nyima	Nominated
	31st Golden Rooster Awards	Best Low Budget Feature	Tharlo	Won	^[13]^[14]
		Best Cinematography	Lu Yesong	Nominated
		Best Editing	Liang Chi-song, Song Bing	Nominated