The Cup will be preceded by an introduction from guest curator Anupma Shanker and a live Dranyen Lute performance by Tibetan mountain and folk singer, Ngawang Lodup.

The critically-acclaimed directorial debut of Bhutanese-born filmmaker and Buddhist Lama Khyentse Norbu, The Cup involves two young football-crazed Tibetan refugee monks Palden and Nylma, who desperately try to obtain a television for their remote Himalayan monastery in India to watch the 1998 FIFA World Cup final. Shot on location in Himachal Pradesh in a semi-documentary style, The Cup’s convivial narrative demystifies its Buddhist protagonists by highlighting their sense of humour and amiable mischievousness while its entirely non-professional cast deliver some commendable performances. A charming comedy with serious political undertones, The Cup is the first ever full-length feature to be made in the Tibetan language.

Anupma Shanker is a British-Indian film curator and archives researcher with a deep and evolving interest in marginalised and minority screen narratives from, of and about the past. Her curatorial practice is focused on bringing to light films and filmmakers that remain overlooked, inaccessible and undiscovered but can offer valuable insight, wisdom and guidance in contextualizing the difficult but urgent discourses about the myths and realities of shared/contested histories, heritage, identities and memories. Website

Ngawang Lodup is a renowned Tibetan mountain and folk singer based in the UK, and is famous for performing Traditional Tibetan nomadic ballads and contemporary folk songs on electric Mandolin and Dranyen lute. He grew up in the Amdo region of Tibet–a harsh but magical environment on the north-eastern corner of the Tibetan Plateau, known for its wind-swept grasslands, fine horses and nomadic culture. Since settling in the UK in 2004, Ngawang has garnered great acclaim for his renditions of Tibetan folk songs and has been performing across the UK, USA and Europe over the last decade, including Norway, Poland, Estonia, Ireland, Netherlands, Belgium, and Switzerland. In April 2015, he became the first World Music artist to join the “BBC Introducing” initiative, and in September that year, he performed at the O2 Arena in London for the Dalai Lama amidst a packed crowd of international audiences. He was subsequently invited to appear at the WOMAD music festival, Shamba festival, Greenbelt Festival, Musicport Festival and GLOBALTICA World Cultures Festival, and has since been extensively featured in various newspapers.