{Singapore Premiere}
SAT 29 SEP | 7:10pm
USA 2017
75 mins
NC16
Consumer Advice: Some mature content
English with no subtitle
Directed by David Wright
Synopsis
As the dust was still settling after WWII and the Cold War divided the world, the mysterious and impenetrable mountain kingdom of Tibet sent out a plea to help stop the communist forces of China from invading their country. They chose the most well-known newsman of his day to document their plight, hoping to garner international support to protect their borders from the Red Army. Lowell Thomas, along with his son, became only the seventh and eighth Westerners invited to walk through the Western Gate of Lhasa. Meeting the 15-year-old Dalai Lama was an adventure of a lifetime for them, and the start of a relationship between His Holiness and the Thomas family that has now spanned three generations.
Out of this World is a digitised and re-released version of an original film print from the 1950’s by Lowell Thomas, which will include new scenes and information, as well as photographs from the original trip and those from our 2016 expedition.
Director’s Bio
David Wright is an award-winning documentary filmmaker. He has worked in more than 60 countries and has made films for National Geographic, the BBC and PBS. David was cinematographer on features including Slingshot (2015), Voice of America: Lowell Thomas and the Rise of Broadcast News (2017), The Boys that Said No and The Dark Illuminates the Light (2018). “Lowell Thomas is regarded as the father of broadcast journalism,” David says, “and after a 25-year career shooting and producing documentaries it was a privilege to rework Out of This World for a new audience.”
Director’s Statement
Lowell Thomas was America’s best known newsman, one of the world’s greatest adventurers and is considered one of the founding fathers of broadcast journalism. With a 50-year career spanning radio, television, cinema and the publication of many books, he brought the world to the American people. Much of what Lowell broadcast was immediately archived and has sat untouched for decades.
The Last Dalai Lama? takes a fresh look at what is important for the 14th Dalai Lama at age 82: the historical confrontation between Tibet and China; his influence in political, spiritual, and educational spheres; and his personal feelings on aging, dying and whether he will be the last Dalai Lama. The film artfully weaves archival and contemporary footage from Lemle’s ground-breaking Compassion in Exile: The Story of The 14th Dalai Lama (1992); intimate interviews with His Holiness, shot 25 years apart; and interviews with his family and the westerners he’s inspired since his exile from Tibet in 1959. The film is enhanced by a beautiful original music score composed and performed by Philip Glass and Tibetan musician, Tenzin Choegyal.
Shot by more than 40 filmmaking teams around the world, Sacred immerses viewers in the daily use of faith and spiritual practice. At a time when religious hatred dominates the world’s headlines, this film explores faith as a primary human experience, and how people turn to ritual and prayer to navigate the milestones and crises of private life. The film’s director commissioned or sourced footage from top independent filmmakers from more than 25 countries — and a wide range of religious traditions — each team contributing a single scene.
How much would you sacrifice to fight for what you believe in?
The coming of age and a heart-warming tale of a young Rinpoche’s reincarnation and journey home.
Ninko, a young diligent Buddhist monk, has a serious problem: women (and some men too) are attracted to him. After a series of troubling encounters with infatuated women, Ninko starts a journey to seek purification and to escape from his troubles.
A sensitively rendered documentary looking at the life and death of Shar Jones, a transgender person living with early onset Alzheimer’s Disease, and the difficult choice he and his wife Cynthia Vitale faced as the couple struggled to figure out how to proceed amidst his chaotic decline. Instead of letting his memory slip away and burdening Cynthia with years of care, the film highlights the couple’s journey as Shar pursues a conscious death. With an intimate visual style, Shar’s tale of gender identity gives his choice in death an especially telling element.
为拉达克的第一位安尼藏医。亦有住在山洞十年的老安尼多玛慈仁，讲述她们学习佛法的生活和故事。本片也纪录了小安尼秋田多玛十八岁时即成为小主持的欢乐与眼泪。更有德烈汪莫从西藏家乡一路磕长头花了一年多的时间费尽千辛万苦到印度学习佛法，经过十七年的苦读成为西藏第一批女格西（佛学博士）的故事。