Balloon (2019 Chinese film)

Balloon
Film poster
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese	氣球
Simplified Chinese	气球
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Qìqiú
Directed by	Pema Tseden
Written by	Pema Tseden
Based on	Balloon by Pema Tseden
Starring	Tso Yangshik
Cinematography	Lǚ Songye
Edited by	Liao Qingsong Jin Di
Music by	Peyman Yazdanian
Production companies	Beijing Shengtang Times Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Factory Gate (Tianjin) Film Co., Ltd. Qinghai Manishi Film Co., Ltd. China Film Stellar Theater Chain iQiyi
Release date	30 August 2019 (2019-08-30) (Venice)
Running time	102 minutes
Country	China
Languages	Chinese Tibetan

Balloon (Chinese: 气球) is a 2019 Chinese drama film written and directed by Pema Tseden. It was screened in the Horizons section at the 76th Venice International Film Festival.[1][2]

Synopsis

The film evokes a Tibetan family's struggle between religious conservatism and sexual emancipation. Drolkar and her husband have three sons and are sheep farmers. In order to comply with the one-child policy implemented by the Chinese authorities, Drolkar uses condoms as a means of contraception, a practice that is not very widespread in this traditional society.[3]

Cast

• Tso Yangshik
• Wangmo Sonam
• Jinpa

Accolades

Date	Award	Category	Recipient(s) and nominee(s)	Result	Notes
2019	5th Chicago International Film Festival	Best Screenplay	Pema Tseden	Won
	76th Venice International Film Festival		Balloon	Nominated
	2019 Toronto International Film Festival	Contemporary World Cinema		Nominated
	24th Busan International Film Festival	A Window on Asian Cinema		Nominated
	20th Tokyo Filmex			Won
	Asia-Pacific Film Festival	Best Film		Nominated
	2nd Hainan Island International Film Festival	Best Film		Won	[4]

References

1. Vivarelli, Nick (25 July 2019). "Joker, Ad Astra, The Laundromat, Marriage Story to Compete in Venice". Variety. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
2. "Orizzonti". labiennale.org. 25 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
3. AlloCine, Balloon (in French), retrieved 17 January 2023
4. Chen Chen (9 December 2019). 第二届海南岛国际电影节闭幕，万玛才旦《气球》摘“金椰”. thepaper.cn (in Simplified Chinese). Retrieved 18 February 2020.

External links

• Balloon at IMDb 
• Balloon at Rotten Tomatoes
• Balloon at Douban (in Chinese)
• Balloon at Mtime.com (archived) (in Chinese)