Xiao Zhihui

A Little Wisdom is director Yuqi Kang’s intimately observed portrait of orphaned monks living in an isolated monastery in Lumbini, Nepal. In the birthplace of the Buddha, we follow the daily routine of novice monk Hopakuli, and his older brother Chorten, left by their mother at Karma Samtenling Monastery. Kang lived at the monastery for a year prior to filming Hopakuli, Chorten and the other young monks. A Little Wisdom’s subtle rhythms and symbols evoke Buddhist teachings while showing the contradictions between Hopakuli’s austere monastic upbringing and a child’s natural fascination and longing for the world beyond Lumbini. (South by Southwest Film Festival)