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Must stream THIS WEEK ONLY: Pema Tseden's Snow Leopard (FREE!)

Published about 1 month ago • 2 min read

Hello Reader,

This week, transport yourself to the Tibetan Plateau to meet the Snow Leopard Monk, see gorgeous landscapes, and discover a way of life threatened by capitalism...

in Pema Tseden's Snow Leopard!

If you're in the UK, get your FREE ticket this week only (details below).

This may be your only chance to see the film EVER. Most of the director's wonderful past films are unavailable in English-speaking territories.

This wonderful humanist drama is the final film from the late great Tibetan filmmaker Pema Tseden. It was a highlight of TIFF 2023 and is still seeking international distribution.

About Snow Leopard

Here's an excerpt from my review:

In the late Pema Tseden’s (Balloon, TIFF ‘19) final film, Snow Leopard, the titular animal may be known as one of the most ferocious on the planet, but it’s the humans that need to learn a little tenderness. Set in the high altitudes of the Tibetan Plateau, against stunning mountains and lakes, Snow Leopard is a call for empathy, not just for animals but other humans.

When journalist Wang Xu (Xiong Ziqi) gets word from his childhood friend, now known as the Snow Leopard Monk (Tseten Tashi), that a snow leopard is in the monk’s brother’s (Jinpa) backyard, he grabs a camera crew and heads for the mountains. Wang Xu arrives to find a snow leopard penned in with a herd of rams, nine of which it killed. Although snow leopards are a protected, endangered species in China, the brother refuses to let the snow leopard free until the government compensates him for his dead rams. If he doesn’t get compensated, he threatens to kill the snow leopard — illegally — as retribution. It won’t fix his money troubles, but a dead snow leopard feels like a twisted form of justice to him.

Set over a couple of tense days, the film is partly about the friendship between Wang Xu and the Snow Leopard Monk and partly about how capitalism hardens people into ferocious beasts. In an early scene, Snow Leopard Monk’s brother threatens to kill the snow leopard then and there in a fit of rage. The Snow Leopard Monk reacts by jumping into the pen and facing off against the snow leopard, who seems to turn docile in his presence.

Read the full review

How to watch Snow Leopard

WOW festival is screening the film digitally across the UK, Northern Ireland, Jersey, and Guernsey until March 31 for FREE (PWYC).

Book your FREE ticket here.

Not in the UK?

Watch this space for updates on future screenings of the film.

In the meantime, please tell us where you are so we can better tailor your recommendations!

Click here if you're in Canada

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Click here if you're in Ireland

Click here if you're elsewhere.


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Seventh Row

Seventh Row is a nonprofit Canadian film criticism publication and publishing house. We're dedicated to helping you expand your horizons by curating the best socially progressive films from around the world and helping you think deeply about them. This newsletter is run by Seventh Row (http://seventh-row.com) but features exclusive content not found on the website.

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