Yes, language is political. So it’s refreshing to see that the unspoken ban on non-Han languages in Chinese cinema has clearly ended. In Taiwan, Seediq Bale—shot entirely in Seediq—was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 2012 Oscars. On the mainland, Pema Tseden’s Old Dog in Tibetan has also won international acclaim.

Now it’s the turn of the Yi (彝), who number eight million and live primarily in rural and mountainous areas of Sichuan, Yunnan, Guizhou and Guangxi . . .