Final movie of Pema Tseden, as he died four months before it premiered at the 80th Venice International Film Festival, “Snow Leopard”, which won Best Film at Tokyo and the Cyclo D’or in Vesoul, is another testament to the significance of the loss of a truly great filmmaker.

The film is currently screening in the UK, courtesy of Day For Night

A regional television crew is driving through a Tibetan-speaking region of Qinghai province in northwest China to report on a herder who has captured the snow leopard which has killed nine of his sheep. Lead reporter Dradul has been contacted by the herder’s brother, Nyima, a former classmate who is now a monk. However, as soon as they arrive, they find Nyima’s brother, Jinpa, utterly enraged, having imprisoned the leopard in the pen, and waiting for the authorities to arrive in order to receive compensation for the dead animals.