A Buddhist Monk Learns the Internet in ‘Sing Me a Song’ Doc Trailer

“As long as it’s a love song.” Gravitas has unveiled an official trailer for an indie documentary titled Sing Me a Song, made by acclaimed French doc filmmaker Thomas Balmès (Bosnia Hotel, Maharadja Burger, Happiness). This originally premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and arrives on VOD in the US in early January. When the internet finally arrives in tiny Bhutan, documentarian Thomas Balmès is there to witness its transformative impact on a young Buddhist monk whose initial trepidation gives way to profound engagement with the technology. A nuanced portrait of a young man’s introduction to the world, Balmès offers us an eye-opening snapshot of the effects of technology, and challenges us to reassess our perceptions of self-worth and beliefs in an age of unparalleled connectivity. It’s rather amusing to think that these humble Bhutan Buddhist monks also fall for pretty women in dating apps just as easily as anyone else.

Here’s the official trailer (+ posters) for Thomas Balmès’s doc Sing Me a Song, direct from YouTube:

Award-winning documentarian Thomas Balmès’ returns to one of his beloved Happiness (2014) subjects, Peyangki, now a teenaged Buddhist monk living in a rural (yet Wi-Fi equipped) monastery in Bhutan, absorbed in the wonders of the world that are a simple click away. The structured daily village rituals of prayer and candle lighting now compete with the powerful lure of smartphones and TV. Apps for chats and dating introduce the monks to girls and violent video games, neither of which quite line up with the traditional vows of the monks. Peyangki is passionate about love songs and forms a relationship over an app, WeChat, with a young singer (Ugyen) in the “big city” of Thimphu. Distracted and disinterested in study, and often scolded by his masters and mother, he sells medicinal mushrooms to make enough money to leave the monastery and travel to Ugyen. Sing Me a Song is directed by French filmmaker Thomas Balmès, director of the doc films Bosnia Hotel, Maharadja Burger, The Gospel According to the Papuans, Waiting for Jesus, A Decent Factory, Babies, and Happiness previously. This first premiered at the Toronto Film Festival last year, and also played at the Les Arcs Film Festival. Gravitas will release Balmès’ Sing Me a Song doc direct-to-VOD in the US starting January 1st, 2021 at the beginning of the new year. Look good?