Balloon

Tibet’s leading director, Pema Tseden has made his best film yet with Balloon, a poignant tale of faith and modernity. Combining gentle comedy and serious drama, he creates an intimate portrait of three generations of one family living in the Tibetan grasslands in the 1980s. The balloon of the title is actually a condom, unknown to the two boisterous sons, but important to their parents in the wake of the new Chinese family planning laws. It sparks a series of embarrassing incidents that threaten to break up the harmonious family.

‘There are three main areas in Tibet and I chose the specific one because there is a tradition of revenge there. In fact, even Hitler talked about the people in the region; they are famous because they are eager to fight. In addition, this region is scarcely populated, very quiet, the living conditions are difficult, and I felt that the place suits the story of “Jinpa”. Since the shooting took place at such a height (average of 5,000 meters in the area), only local people were used to these kind of conditions, while the crew, who were Chinese and Tibetan actually got sick due to the lack of oxygen. Some of them even had serious problems and had to be sent to the hospital. I am used to this environment so I was ok.’

Pema Tseden, Director