New Dalai Lama documentary in production
February 14th, 2007 by Zsofia
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Production is currently underway on a new documentary about the Dalai Lama. “Dalai Lama Renaissance” follows a group of 40 Western thinkers, including two quantum physicists, who travel to the Himalayan mountains to meet him.
Producer/ director Khashyar Darvich has spent 6 years working on the film, and even got Harrison Ford on board to narrate. The director says he has also assembled a world-class music soundtrack that includes original music from leading sitar player Roop Verma. The European Documentary Portal recently spoke to the American director about his experiences.
Q: How did you get started on the project?
Initially, my company (Wakan Films) funded the project alone. I found a professional crew (18 people) that was so interested in the subject matter and the opportunity to spend time with the Dalai Lama that they paid their own way to India. Once the footage was filmed, we received a non-profit grant as well as smaller individual donations. Co-Producer David Mueller, who had previous experience with fundraising, helped bring in some funding for the film during post-production. Many people volunteered their time on the film, or are working for deferred pay. The rest of the post-production I paid for myself because I believe that it is an important project that can positively impact audiences.
Q: Who or what is the main focus of the film? Was it difficult to create a storyline?
The film is about these innovative Western renaissance thinkers (including quantum physicists Fred Alan Wolf and Ami Goswami from the film “What the Bleep Do We Know,” social scientist Jean Houston, and Dr. Michael Beckwith from the film “The Secret”) who travel to India to meet with the Dalai Lama in order to find solutions to some of the world’s problems. The story arch involves the thinkers - their struggles and the transformation that they go through as a result of their interaction with the Dalai Lama - but the story is also very much about the Dalai Lama himself, as the film includes many unique intimate moments with him.
Finding the balance between presenting the story of the Westerners and the Dalai Lama was one of the aspects of the film that we had to consider carefully. Ultimately, I feel that it is important for the audience to feel as if they are there, traveling through India, meeting the Dalai Lama, and experiencing the change that the Westerners go through.
Q: How did you get Harrison Ford attached?
I made a shortlist of who I thought would make the best narrator for the film, and Harrison Ford was at the top of the list. One of our co-producers (Ferris Smith) contacted Harrison Ford’s office, presented the project to them, and they felt that it was a worthwhile and powerful project. It took a few weeks to schedule the narration recording date. We recorded Harrison in a recording studio in West Hollywood, and he was generous enough to record each line of narration in three different intonations, for a total of 10 takes per line.
Q: What was the most incredible moment (for you) during production?
The most incredible moment was interviewing the Dalai Lama. Being in the room with him taught me that compassion and having a warm heart was so fundamental to who we are as human beings, and that we often complicate our lives and interactions with others with rules and expectations that prevent us from just being kind, open and warm to other people. The simplicity of expressing compassion (which also simply makes us feel good) was something that I came away with. Another extraordinary moment was to work 14 hours per day on the filming (with my hard-working crew), almost at a speed at which we had to film using our instincts more than a predetermined plan, and then realize that at the end of the trip and 145 hours of footage, we had captured a compelling and unique story.
Q: What are the exact plans for the film’s release?
Our test audiences who have watched the film feel that it can certainly be a theatrical documentary, so our plan is to first enter the film into festivals around the world (once the editing is completed), and then distribute it internationally in theaters, and then on television. After that, release it on DVD. We are also planning to release a film soundtrack (we have recorded many hours of world-class Indian, Tibetan, and Western music), as well as a companion DVD with additional Dalai Lama footage that was recorded during filming, but not included in the film.
For more info see www.DalaiLamaFilm.com.
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