Tashi Gyeltshen is a writer-director from Thumphu, Bhutan, who wanted to become a poet, but instead worked as a journalist before teaching himself to be a filmmaker. He wrote and directed his first short film, Girl with a Red Sky, in 2008, followed by A Forgotten Story in 2010. His third short The Red Door premiered at International Film Festival Rotterdam in 2014. He was awarded the Best Screenplay prize at Bhutan’s National Film Awards in 2009. His debut feature The Red Phallus won a production grant award at Open Doors Hub at Locarno Festival and was a part of the WIP Lab at Hong Kong – Asia Film Financing Forum, 2018. The film won the FIPRESCI Award at the Busan International Film Festival and was nominated for the Crystal Bear Generation 14plus – Best Feature Film prize at the Berlin International Film Festival and played at Edinburgh, Fribourg and Kerala film festivals. He also earned his first APSA nomination for Best Youth Feature Film for The Red Phallus.
The Asia Pacific Screen Academy expresses its respect for and acknowledgement of the South East Queensland Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. We pay our respects to the Traditional Owners of country, including the custodial communities on whose land works are created and celebrated by the Asia Pacific Screen Awards. We acknowledge the continuing connection to land, waters and communities. We also pay our respects to Elders, past and emerging. We recognise the integral role Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander and First Nations peoples continue to play in storytelling and celebration spaces.
