‘Wolf Dog’ French Producers Board WAVES Film Bazaar Ladakhi Project ‘Idiot’
Emerging Ladakhi filmmaker Stenzin Tankyong, whose shorts “Sekool” and “Last Days of Summer” (Rotterdam 2023) have screened widely on the festival circuit, has written and is set to direct “Kakthet” (Idiot).
“Idiot” is produced by veteran filmmakers Ritu Sarin and Tenzing Sonam of White Crane Films, with Flore Cavigneaux and Jérôme Blesson of France’s La Belle Affaire Productions (“Wolf Dog,” Venice Film Festival, 2022) serving as co-producers. La Belle Affaire Productions previously produced Tankyong’s “Last Days of Summer.”
Set against the sweeping, high-altitude landscapes of Ladakh’s Changthang region, “Idiot” is a humorous and whimsical coming-of-age drama centred on Singay, an 18-year-old underachiever who has been unable to progress beyond the 10th grade at his remote government school. When the school faces imminent closure, the entire teaching staff rallies together in a last-ditch mission to help him finally pass his exams.
For Tankyong, the story is rooted in an urgent and largely overlooked reality faced by government-run village schools are experiencing a steep decline in enrolment as families increasingly opt for private institutions in Leh or metropolitan cities. The filmmaker sees this as a quiet but escalating crisis: while some families can afford to send their children away, many cannot, leaving a generation vulnerable to being left behind. “An uneducated generation cannot uplift its community. This film explores that truth, through honesty, humour and heart,” he says.
The team has begun early financing discussions, with WAVES Film Bazaar marking the project’s market debut. Some private equity has been secured to kick-start development, and the producers are actively seeking international partners, co-producers and financiers.
The script is complete, key cast and locations are in place with production on “Idiot” slated to begin in July 2026, concluding in May 2027 to capture the region’s dramatic seasonal shifts.
WAVES Film Bazaar is the market component of the International Film Festival of India (IFFI), Goa.
