Hema Hema: Sing Me a Song While I Wait

A man enters a clearing, dons a mask, plays a flute, and waits. He is soon joined by other masked people carrying machetes, spears, and bows. They take him to a place deep in the jungle where a ceremony is about to commence, and an elder explains the rules. The ritual takes place once every 12 years. It begins with the full moon, and no one may leave until the new moon rises. Identities beneath the masks must not be revealed. "You are here to prepare for the gap between death and birth," the elder explains. "You are here to find out who you really are."

The dazzling 2016 film from Bhutanese lama and filmmaker Khyentse Norbu (The Cup, Travelers and Magicians) chronicles a sacred jungle ritual whose masked, anonymous participants seek after complete self-knowledge — or descend into thievery, violation, and murder.

Official Selection: Locarno Film Festival; Toronto Intl. Film Festival