The Cinematheque

“One of the most accomplished Canadian debuts in recent memory … A narrative charged with a sense of everyday enigma, with characters trying to get to the bottom of their own impulses and desires.”

Adam Nayman, Toronto Star

Kunsang Kyirong’s first feature is a rich and intricate mystery that deals in crime, secrecy, and masked desire, whether between two women or among an entire community. 100 Sunset​’s perspective is aligned with its nearly silent protagonist Kunsel and her preference for hidden intentions. She pickpockets, but not for obvious profit; she points a camcorder at her neighbours, but from a voyeuristic distance; and she strikes up a conspiratorial intimacy with the newly arrived Passang, but withholds direct expression, even refusing to apply herself to the English-language classes they both attend. Kyirong, whose animation and short films were developed during her time in Vancouver, places this outsider narrative within a highly specified knowledge of Toronto’s Little Tibet, and does so with key collaborators in common with MDFF’s standout films, including cinematographer Nikolay Michaylov (Matt and Mara, Concrete Valley) and editor Brendan Mills (The Maiden).

In Tibetan and English with English subtitles

The May 15 screening of 100 Sunset will be followed by a virtual Q&A with director Kunsang Kyirong, moderated by Tsering Shakya.

“One of the year’s greatest discoveries, 100 Sunset is a fierce and compelling debut … [The film’s] world is both familiar and alienating, creating a tempest of internal tensions.”

Justine Smith, Cult MTL

“This film represents a new chapter, a landmark moment, for Tibetan cinema in exile.”

Tenzing Sonam, director of Dharamshala IFF