description Butter Lamp Overview
"Butter Lamp" (La Lampe au beurre de yak) is a 2013 live-action short film directed by Hu Wei and produced as a Chinese-French co-production. The 15-minute film is set in a single location, where a traveling photographer takes portraits of Tibetan nomads and their families against changing painted backdrops. It features a cast of nonprofessional Tibetan actors and offers a quiet, observational look at the cultural and physical landscape of the region. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film and is suited for audiences interested in international art cinema.
help Butter Lamp FAQ
What is Butter Lamp about?
Butter Lamp, known in French as La Lampe au beurre de yak, follows a traveling photographer who takes portraits of Tibetan nomads and their families. The 2013 short uses repeated posed photographs to explore identity, place, and cultural change.
Who directed Butter Lamp?
Butter Lamp was directed by Hu Wei as a Chinese-French co-production. It is a live-action short built around a single photographic location rather than a conventional multi-location narrative.
How long is Butter Lamp?
Butter Lamp runs for about 15 minutes. The short uses that compact length to repeat the portrait setup with different Tibetan subjects and backgrounds.
Is Butter Lamp a documentary?
Butter Lamp is generally presented as a fictional live-action short, although it uses documentary-like portrait photography and real cultural settings. Its central device is a traveling photographer posing Tibetan nomads and families against staged backdrops.
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