Dechen Roder

Dechen Roder (born 1980, Bumthang, Bhutan) is a Bhutanese filmmaker, producer, and cultural advocate who has played a central role in shaping Bhutan's independent cinema landscape. As the founder of Dakinny Productions and co-founder of the Beskop Tshechu Film Festival, Roder has been instrumental in creating platforms for Bhutanese filmmakers and in bringing Bhutanese stories to international audiences. Her work explores themes of identity, spirituality, gender, and the tension between tradition and modernity in contemporary Bhutan.^[1]

Roder is widely regarded as one of Bhutan's most important female filmmakers. Her debut feature, Honeygiver Among the Dogs (2017), was the first Bhutanese film nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Award, and her second feature, I, the Song (2024), was selected as Bhutan's official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards.^[2]

Early Life and Education

Dechen Roder was born in 1980 in Bumthang, one of Bhutan's most culturally significant valleys in central Bhutan. She grew up immersed in the Buddhist traditions and oral storytelling culture of the region. Roder pursued higher education abroad before returning to Bhutan, where she became increasingly drawn to filmmaking as a medium for preserving and reinterpreting Bhutanese cultural narratives. She has spoken in interviews about the dearth of stories about Buddhist women in popular culture and her determination to fill that gap through cinema.^[1]

Career and Dakinny Productions

Roder founded Dakinny Productions in 2009, establishing one of Bhutan's earliest independent film production companies. The name "Dakinny" is derived from "dakini," a female spiritual figure in Vajrayana Buddhism, reflecting Roder's commitment to foregrounding women's perspectives in her work. Through Dakinny Productions, she began making documentaries and short films that explored Bhutanese culture, spirituality, and social issues.^[3]

In 2011, Roder completed her first short film, Original Photocopy of Happiness, which was nominated for Best Short Film at the Brussels International Independent Film Festival and received a Special Mention at the Hong Kong ifva Awards in 2012. The film established her reputation as a filmmaker capable of blending philosophical inquiry with visual storytelling.^[4]

Honeygiver Among the Dogs (2017)

Honeygiver Among the Dogs was Roder's debut feature film, released in 2017. The film tells the story of a detective investigating the disappearance of a nun, leading him into a mysterious encounter with a woman who may be a manifestation of a dakini. The narrative weaves together elements of Buddhist philosophy, Bhutanese folklore, and contemporary social commentary, particularly regarding the lives and spiritual agency of women in Bhutanese society.^[5]

The film premiered at the Busan International Film Festival (BIFF), one of Asia's most prestigious film events, marking a significant milestone for Bhutanese cinema on the international stage. It subsequently won three awards at the Fribourg International Film Festival in Switzerland and became the first Bhutanese film to be nominated for the Asia Pacific Screen Award. The film was also screened at numerous other international festivals, bringing unprecedented visibility to Bhutan's independent film scene.^[4]

I, the Song (2024)

Roder's second feature film, I, the Song, premiered at the 28th Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival (POFF) in Estonia in November 2024, where it was selected for the Critic's Pick Competition. The film follows a schoolteacher who travels to southern Bhutan in search of her doppelganger to save her job and reputation. As she becomes entangled in her lookalike's life, she discovers she may be the only one who can solve the mystery of her double's disappearance and recover a stolen sacred song.^[6]

At the Tallinn festival, Roder was awarded Best Director for the film. I, the Song went on to dominate Bhutan's National Film Awards, winning nearly every major category including Best Film, Best Director, Best Screenplay, and acting honours. The film was subsequently selected as Bhutan's official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the 98th Academy Awards (2026 ceremony).^[2]

Beskop Tshechu Film Festival

In 2011, Roder co-founded the Beskop Tshechu Film Festival, Bhutan's first and only dedicated film festival. The name combines "beskop" (a Bhutanese colloquial term for cinema, derived from "bioscope") with "tshechu" (the traditional religious festival held in dzongs and monasteries across Bhutan). The festival was conceived as an alternative platform for Bhutanese filmmakers and audiences, providing a space for independent and experimental cinema outside the commercial Bhutanese film industry.^[7]

The festival has grown steadily since its inception, hosting its sixth edition in 2025 with a significant increase in female participation. Beskop Tshechu screens both Bhutanese and international films and includes workshops, panel discussions, and masterclasses aimed at nurturing the next generation of Bhutanese filmmakers. The festival has been credited with supporting a community of independent filmmakers in Bhutan and raising the profile of Bhutanese cinema internationally.^[8]

Themes and Artistic Vision

Roder's filmography is distinguished by its engagement with Buddhist philosophy, the lives of women, and the complexities of identity in a rapidly changing Bhutan. In interviews, she has emphasised her desire to tell stories about Buddhist women, whose experiences she believes are underrepresented in both Bhutanese and global cinema. Her films frequently employ non-linear narratives, dreamlike imagery, and elements of magical realism drawn from Bhutanese spiritual traditions.^[6]

She has also spoken about the challenge of making films in Bhutan, where the domestic film industry is small and largely commercially oriented, and where funding for independent cinema is scarce. Despite these constraints, Roder has built an international career that has placed Bhutanese cinema on the map of global arthouse filmmaking.^[9]

References

1. Asian Movie Pulse. "Interview with Dechen Roder: Nobody Tells the Stories of Buddhist Women." September 2019. https://asianmoviepulse.com/2019/09/interview-with-dechen-roder-nobody-tells-the-stories-of-buddhist-women/
2. SydneysBuzz. "Bhutan's Oscar Submission 2026 Best International Feature: 'I, the Song' by Dechen Roder." March 2026. https://blogs.sydneysbuzz.com/bhutans-oscar-submission-2026-best-international-feature-i-the-song-by-dechen-roder-bea0ab095fef
3. Cinemas d'Asie. "Dechen Roder." https://www.cinemas-asie.com/en/members/dechen-roder.html
4. Wikipedia. "Dechen Roder." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dechen_Roder
5. DC Environmental Film Festival. "Roder, Dechen — Filmmaker." https://dceff.org/filmmaker/roder-dechen/
6. Asian Movie Pulse. "Interview with Dechen Roder: Is Reality As Simple As What We See?" November 2024. https://asianmoviepulse.com/2024/11/interview-with-dechen-roder-is-reality-as-simple-as-what-we-see-or-much-deeper-and-more-complex/
7. Asian Movie Pulse. "Beskop Tshechu, Bhutan's First Festival Will Launch its 5th Edition." April 2024. https://asianmoviepulse.com/2024/04/beskop-tshechu-bhutans-first-festival-will-launch-its-5th-edition-on-april-19-2024/
8. BBS. "Significant rise in female participation at Beskop Tshechu 2025." 2025. https://www.bbs.bt/228946/
9. Sphere Festival. "Artist Profile: Dechen Roder." https://spherefestival.com/artist-profile-dechen-roder/