Pig at the Crossing is a 2024 Dzongkha- and English-language drama directed by Khyentse Norbu, shot largely in Kathmandu and produced by his Thimphu-based Norling Studios. The film follows a young Bhutanese man through the bardo intermediate state after a fatal motorcycle accident and was released through a virtual world premiere on 11 May 2024 after being declined by major festivals.
Pig at the Crossing is a 2024 drama film written and directed by Khyentse Norbu. It is the director's seventh feature and the most recent as of 2026. The film is performed in Dzongkha and English with a small Nepali component, runs 119 minutes, and was produced through Khyentse Norbu's Thimphu-based Norling Studios.[1]
The story follows Dolom, a 29-year-old Bhutanese man living between Thimphu and Kathmandu, who dies in a motorcycle accident on his way to meet his girlfriend Deki and finds himself in a disorienting in-between realm. With the help of a guide whose status is left ambiguous, he confronts memories of his living life and the consequences of his actions. The screenplay draws explicitly on the Tibetan Buddhist concept of the bardo, the intermediate state between death and rebirth described in the Bardo Thodol (popularly known in English as the Tibetan Book of the Dead), and the film has been read as a companion piece to Khyentse Norbu's earlier Hema Hema in his treatment of bardo themes.[2]
Unusually for a Khyentse Norbu film, Pig at the Crossing did not enter a major festival circuit. The director has said publicly that the project was declined by approximately thirty festivals, and the producers responded by mounting a global virtual premiere on 11 May 2024 through the film's own platform with parallel theatrical screenings in selected cities.[3]
Production
Principal photography took place in 2022 and 2023 in Kathmandu and surrounding areas, with limited Bhutanese sequences. The film was produced by Pawo Choyning Dorji and the Norling Studios team, with cinematography by Jigme T. Tenzing. The cast features Bhutanese performers in the lead roles, including the actor playing Dolom and a supporting ensemble drawn from the Kathmandu Tibetan-exile community.[4]
Themes
The film extends Khyentse Norbu's long-running interest in cinema as a vehicle for Vajrayana cosmology. Where The Cup (1999) used the comedy of monastic life to introduce Buddhist thought to non-Buddhist audiences, Pig at the Crossing places the bardo at the centre of the narrative without explanatory framing. The pig of the title alludes to the central animal in the wheel-of-life imagery of Tibetan iconography, traditionally representing ignorance, and the title's "crossing" refers both to the literal road junction where the accident takes place and to the bardo passage between lives.
Distribution and Reception
The virtual premiere on 11 May 2024 was followed by limited theatrical runs in Bhutan, Nepal, India and selected cities in Europe and North America. Asian Movie Pulse, Buddhistdoor and the International Buddhist Film Foundation covered the release, with critical responses praising the production design and the lead performance while noting the film's didactic structure and its rejection of conventional festival distribution. The film was selected for the International Buddhist Film Festival's 2024 official selection series.[5]
Within the cinema of Bhutan, Pig at the Crossing is notable as a return to the Dzongkha-language tradition of Travellers and Magicians after two films set primarily in Sri Lanka and Nepal, and as the most explicit treatment of the bardo in Khyentse Norbu's filmography to date.[6]
References
- Pig at the Crossing — official film site
- Film Review: Pig at the Crossing — Asian Movie Pulse
- Bhutanese director Khyentse Norbu turns to virtual screening for Pig At The Crossing — Screen Daily
- Pig at the Crossing — IMDb
- Khyentse Norbu's Pig at the Crossing Set for virtual premiere on 11 May — Buddhistdoor Global
- IBFF Official Selection Series Begins December 8 — Buddhist Film Foundation
See also
Babzo (Mask Making)
Babzo is the traditional Bhutanese art of mask carving, one of the Zorig Chusum (thirteen traditional arts and crafts). Masks are hand-carved from Red Cedar or Blue Pine wood using approximately 30 homemade tools over eight days, with a ninth day dedicated to painting. The masks are essential to the sacred Cham dance performances at tshechus throughout Bhutan.
culture·5 min readBhutanese Archery
Bhutanese archery (Dha) is Bhutan's national sport, declared as such in 1971 when the country joined the United Nations. Unlike Olympic archery, where targets are set at distances up to 70 metres, traditional Bhutanese archery competitions place targets approximately 145 metres (476 feet) apart. Teams of 13 archers shoot two arrows each in alternating directions, with the first team to reach 25 points winning. Matches are accompanied by celebratory slow-motion dances, songs, verbal taunting (kha shed), feasting, and alcohol — making Bhutanese archery as much a social and cultural event as an athletic competition.
culture·6 min readBhutanese Nepali Literature
Bhutanese Nepali literature refers to the body of literary work produced in the Nepali language by Lhotshampa writers from Bhutan, spanning classical metrical poetry, essays, and diaspora memoir, with roots in the early twentieth century and a diaspora renaissance shaped by the refugee crisis that began in the early 1990s.
culture·5 min readKushuthara Brocade
Kushuthara is the most prestigious and technically demanding textile produced in Bhutan, a supplementary weft brocade woven primarily by women in Lhuentse district. Featuring elaborate multicoloured patterns on a fine cotton or silk ground, kushuthara textiles are considered the highest expression of Bhutanese weaving artistry.
culture·7 min readZhungdra
Zhungdra is the classical court music tradition of Bhutan, originating from the era of Zhabdrung Ngawang Namgyal in the seventeenth century. Characterised by slow, meditative melodies and religious themes, zhungdra is performed at official ceremonies, religious festivals, and national celebrations, and is considered the most formal and prestigious genre of Bhutanese music.
culture·6 min readTego and Wonju
The tego and wonju are the outer and inner jackets, respectively, worn by Bhutanese women over the kira. The wonju is a long-sleeved blouse worn closest to the body, while the tego is a short jacket worn over it. Together they complete the formal women's dress ensemble prescribed by the Driglam Namzha code.
culture·6 min read
Test Your Knowledge
Think you know about this topic? Try a quick quiz!
Help improve this article
Do you have personal knowledge about this topic? Were you there? Your experience matters. BhutanWiki is built by the community, for the community.
Anonymous contributions welcome. No account required.