3 Year 3 Month Retreat - LO SUM CHOE SUM

Pitch

The traditional "3-year, 3-month retreat," or Lo-Sum-Choe-Sum, is practiced by monks, nuns, and other Buddhist devotees. Three years, three months, and three days are considered the time needed to reach a higher state of clarity and motivation. By disconnecting from the world and delving into the depths of the mind, this retreat is meant to transform the practitioner. Will Lhamo, a wounded young woman facing the harsh gaze of the world, be able to find her own form of retreat and redemption? "The feeling of being constantly under scrutiny is something I believe most Bhutanese can relate to. Although the heroine's story is based on a supposedly true account, the film is not so much about a woman as it is about the gaze, and a woman caught in that gaze." – Dechen Roder