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Film Library
NURTURING COMPASSION (2018)
58 minutes
NURTURING COMPASSION, the latest release from Crestone Films, portrays the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, leader of the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and his tour of Germany in 2014, his first-ever visit to Europe. Following in the footsteps of his previous incarnation, genuinely regarded as one of the 20th Century’s great saints, the Karmapa faces major challenges. Still a young man, he must live up to the legacy of his predecessor and guide his lineage through challenging and difficult times. Illustrated by archival footage, the film—and the Karmapa himself—give an account of his happy early childhood in Tibet, before his recognition and subsequent daring midwinter escape into exile in India. Filmed with Doug Beechwood.
BODHISATTVA (2013)
NURTURING COMPASSION, the latest release from Crestone Films, portrays the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa, leader of the Karma Kagyu Lineage of Tibetan Buddhism, and his tour of Germany in 2014, his first-ever visit to Europe. Following in the footsteps of his previous incarnation, genuinely regarded as one of the 20th Century’s great saints, the Karmapa faces major challenges. Still a young man, he must live up to the legacy of his predecessor and guide his lineage through challenging and difficult times. Illustrated by archival footage, the film—and the Karmapa himself—give an account of his happy early childhood in Tibet, before his recognition and subsequent daring midwinter escape into exile in India.
YANGSI (2012)
86 minutes
In 1996, I was invited to film the enthronement of Yangsi Khyentse Rinpoche, the four year old reincarnation of His Holiness Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche, a revered Buddhist master of the Nyingma school.I went with my video camera and had a wonderful time getting to know this enchanting little boy.
I proposed to his mentor Rabjam Rinpoche that I return every few years and film his upbringing. How does this being respond to the challenge of our contemporary world, so different from the life of his predecessor?I spent thirteen years filming over numerous visits, including several to his adopted home in Bhutan. This concluded with his world tour at the age of seventeen
UNDER THE BODHI TREE (2004)
33 minutes
Filmed in the winter of 2004, this documentary features His Holiness the 17th Gyalwa Karmapa as he leads a nine day prayer ceremony called the Kagyu Monlam. From his seat under the historic Bodhi Tree in Bodhgaya, the place of Sakyamuni Buddha’s enlightenment, the Karmapa performs ceremonies and ritual empowerments, accompanied by high lamas of the Kagyu Order of Tibetan Buddhism. A vivid and intimate portrait of Tibetan Buddhism at this holiest of sites includes commentary by the Karmapa.
EYE OF THE LAND (1990)
EYE OF THE LAND tells the story of the making of the forty-two foot high Tashi Gomang Stupa near Crestone, a remote town in Southern Colorado. A Stupa is an architectural rendering of the enlightened mind and is used to contain the relics of great Buddhist teachers. For many, seeing a stupa gives rise to faith and respect, as it is said to contain the essence of a teacher’s wisdom, realization, and compassion for all beings. Created over a period of seven years by a small group of dedicated volunteers, the Tashi Gomang Stupa is dedicated to His Holiness the XVI Gyalwa Karmapa, one of the foremost masters of Tibetan Buddhism.
EROS, LOVE & LIES
60 minutes
Psychiatrist Ronald David Laing explores the dynamics of human relationships and the vital necessity of bringing honesty to our lives.
A series of interviews and talks by the renowned psychiatrist and author R.D. Laing, exploring the dynamics of human relationships and the vital necessity of bringing honesty to our lives
CONCERT IN THE SKY (1985)
30 minutes
Film by Mark Elliott
A film with Philippe Petit, the French high wire walker, best known for his sensational walk between the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center.
Here, he conducts an orchestra in the Denver Center for the Performing Arts and includes intimate footage of his preparation.
SOFT FIRE (1984)
20 minutes
A short film portraying Ethel, a ninety old women on her deathbed, sharing her thoughts and reflections,as well as the exemplary care she is given
THE DREAM FOREST (1984)
28 minutes
A couple, George and Ruth Cloven, came into my office with a pet raccoon, wanting to get him into films. Coincidentally I had made friends with Ann Van Eeden, a young Dutch girl who had got to know a raccoon in her backyard. I wrote a script in which she is lured away by the animal to go on a vision quest in which she meets a benevolent witch who tells her of her life destiny.
Crow Dogs Paradise
28 minutes
In 1976, I was invited by Henry Crow Dog, medicine man and Lakota elder, to film the Sundance at his home, Crow Dog's Paradise, on the Rosebud reservation in South Dakota.
Filming the Sundance proved to be too controversial. This was in the aftermath of the Wounded Knee occupation. The atmosphere was tense to say the least. Only a few months earlier, Leonard Crow Dog, Henry's son had been arrested at the Paradise by a SWAT team with helicopters and machine guns. So we put our cameras away and, in the aftermath, filmed rituals and practices as well as personal stories in accordance with Henry's wish to make a film to show the young people of his tribe that they have a tradition.
The following year, we returned to Rosebud to continue filming with Leonard who had been released from prison due to the support of Walter Mondale and Amnesty International.
Narrated by Alan Ginsberg.
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