‘Aloko Udapadi’ is a major milestone in Buddhist Timeline: Chathra Weeraman Crew of Sinhala Film ‘Aloko Udapadi’ meet Press

Sinhala film ‘Aloko Udapadi’ meaning ‘Light Arose’ depicts a major milestone in the Buddhist timeline.  It is a story of human effort to preserve the spiritual heritage of Buddhisim for future generations of mankind. This was stated by the Chathra Weeraman, Director of ‘Aloko Udapadi’ in Goa today.  The film was screened as part of the World Cinema last evening.

Briefing the media, the Director, said that the film is an epic tale about the leading Sri Lankan monks who recorded the sacred work of Buddha in writing, while the land was aflame with war and famine. Set against the background of the events that took place 2100 years ago and 454 years after the great demise of Lord Buddha, the story is based on the facts found in Mahavansha, the chronicle considered to be the documented history of Sri Lanka, rock inscriptions across Sri Lanka written by the monks of that era and folklores about the King Walagambha.  Sensing that Buddhism was in danger monks took to inscribing oral traditions on rocks.  King Walagambha of Sri Lanka troubled by power hungry forces and famine has not got due recognition in history, he added.       

Thanking IFFI 2016 for screening their film in the World Premiere Section, Chathra Weeraman said it is a great platform to showcase the film. He further added Sri Lankan film industry is small and so is the budget scale, due to the small viewership. Their film was completed under a budget of INR 6 crores and this is his debut film.

The Director of the film added that the film it is being dubbed in several languages as there are 41 countries where Buddhism is practised and the film crew feels committed to deliver this significant yet less known chapter of Buddhist history to them in their native language. Responding to a question Chathra Weeraman, said that there are no collaborations yet, but as Buddhism in Sri Lanka’s history is connected to India as well, there can be co-productions on the same topic in the future to come.

Kogalla Nishantha, Executive Producer for the film, spoke to the media about the world release of Aloko Udapadi. He said that this film will be released on January 20th, 2017, in a number of languages.

‘ALOKO UDAPADI’ the Sinhala  film revolves around the story of the Buddha’s dispensation in written form after long centuries of oral tradition in a turbulent historical context. King Valagamba was overthrown five months after his coronation by a rebellion and invasion from South India, but regained the throne after fourteen years by defeating the invaders.

Chathra Weeraman is Co-Founder & Lead VFX Artist at Autumn Lane Studio and is an independent filmmaker. He has over five years’ experience as a Director, 3D Generalist and a Digital Compositor, a driver for both technical as well as creative execution of a production. Along with Chathra Weeraman, Executive Producers of the film Kogalla Nisantha and Nuwan Thilanga were also present at the press conference.

https://youtu.be/TFFcwrO2JpA

Georgina Barreiro: The Maverick director of the Voice of the Lake

A graduate from University of Buenos Aires, Gerogina has produced and edited several television documentaries for Canal Encuentro, Discovery Channel, INADI, University of San Martín and National Library of Argentina. She has worked both as an editor and producer in the film 'The October Silence', about indigenous massacre in Argentina. She worked in 'La ballena va llena', documentary from artist collective Estrella del Oriente. 'Icaros', her first film as a director, explores the spiritual universe of the Shipibo people in the Peruvian Amazon and has participated in more than 40 film festivals around the world. She's recently directed a documentary for ICEERS, portraying indigenous communities in Brazil, Río Branco.

She, along with her team, is planning to shot a documentary ‘The Voice of the Lake’, touted to be a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of a remote village immersed in the Himalayas

The voice of the lake | La voz del lago - Crowfunding from Georgina Barreiro on Vimeo

Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/ or write to Georgina at georginabarreiro@gmail.com

Voice of the Lake: Meet the team

The Voice of the Lake is dubbed as a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of the Leptcha and Bhutia people living in a remote village immersed in the Himalayas.



Let’s find out who all has been in the team from Georgina Barreiro, director, producer and editor, from Buenos Aires,Argentina. 

Georgina Barreiro (GB): While I will be directing, producing and editing the documentary, others in the team include Matias Roth,who is a photographer and producer, and Leonardo Val, director of photography.

Matias Roth has been involved in documentary photography for many years and is also dedicated to the research of Tibetan Buddhism. He is currently working in a photography book about Tibetan Buddhism. He was both producer and still photographer of 'Icaros'.

Leonardo Val has worked in productions for National Geographic, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Adidas, Samsung, Fox Sports. In 2008, he traveled to India to shoot 'Vrindavana' observational documentary approaching spirituality in India. He has also shot 'Icaros' in the Peruvian Amazon, 'Generación Artificial' experimental documentary about Video Jockeys, and a documentary for ICEERS with indigenous communities in Brazil, Río Branco.

The voice of the lake | La voz del lago - Crowfunding from Georgina Barreiro on Vimeo.



Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/ or write to Georgina at georginabarreiro@gmail.com

Story behind The Voice of the Lake

The Voice of the Lake is touted to be a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of  a  remote village immersed in the Himalayas.

Georgina Barreiro, director, producer and editor, from Buenos Bires, Argentina, tells us how she  found this perfect story.

Georgina Barreiro (GB): I believe that films are powerful means to visually explore and share the profoundness of ancestral cultures around the world.

                                                                                

 The voice of the native people holds a deep meaning to me. I have been involved in exploring ancestral communities for many years through filmmaking. My previous documentary 'Icaros', shot in the Peruvian Amazon, expressed the spiritual tradition of the Shipibo people, telling the story from the eyes of a young Shipibo becoming a shaman. I wanted to show the strength and wisdom of this valuable culture.

Inspired by Tibetan Buddhism and looking for a new documentary project, I made a trip to India visiting the most important pilgrimage sites for Buddhists and I felt very captivated by this magical village in West Sikkim. Best known by its mystic lake, also called 'wish fulfilling lake', this town has been considered a sacred place for some of the most important spiritual teachers who have meditated in the caves surrounding the lake for centuries.

I want to make a film that explores the spirituality and culture of the Bhutia-Leptcha people living in this remote village immerse in the fascinating Himalayas, observing their experiences, their emotions and their role in the community I think it's a community with enormous human quality and cultural value. I want to share their spiritual devotion, their history, their search for identity – as they try to keep their tradition and languague intact. We have to learn from their intimate knowledge of the ecosystems, deep respect for nature and connection with their ancestral tradition. In our modern society, ancient cultures around the world are threatened to disappear. I think we need to question about our priorities and values in our contemporary way of living.

We want to continue our journey to raise awareness trying to bring people closer to ancient knowledge. Through understanding I think we can build bonds of respect, love and compassion between us. I invite you to be part of this wonderful creative process and support our project. 

The voice of the lake | La voz del lago - Crowfunding from Georgina Barreiro on Vimeo

Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/ or write to Georgina at georginabarreiro@gmail.com. 

Get, Set…Stop

You don’t seem to get a hang of what is happening to your life till you go through it considerably, rewind it, and see it with a fresh perspective. Alas, sometimes, such rewinds don’t happen always, and often, it happens at the twilight zone of our lives.

As some wise people say – we see our lives flash before our eyes like a movie, finally helping us make sense of it, just before we are about to die. I say, how does that help? If we see what it really meant to be born at the moment we are about to die, how would we be able to correct our mistakes or do any course-correction – the time for that is long past.

The only alternative, therefore, we have, is to take a stock of our lives from time to time. Take a break, reflect upon what is going on in your life, what have you achieved so far, where would you want to go from here, did you make any mistakes along the way, is there any way out that you can rectify them – questions such as these will help you understand your life path periodically, rather than seeing it at one go at a time when it would be too late to do anything.

In our fast-paced life, we are all running, to achieve our goals, careers, ambition, luxuries, but do we think of ourselves, our integral self, and the soul within? Seldom, do we take into consideration what would everything that we are doing would result into. We just keep at the race, fighting to keep us competitive, ahead of the others.

Stop today, stop now. See where you are going, take a stock of your life so far and if need be, start afresh. 

The Voice of the Lake: Unveiling the documentary

The documentary is dubbed as a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of the Leptcha and Bhutia people living in a remote village immersed in the Himalayas.

Georgina Barreiro, director, producer and editor, from Buenos Aires, Argentina, tells us why they plan to develop this documentary.

Georgina Barreiro (GB): Our story takes place in the fascinating Himalayas, portraying the life of the  Butia and Leptcha people living in a remote community in Sikkim, India. Best known by its mystic lake, also called “wish fulfilling lake”, venerated by both Hindus and Buddhists, this village has been considered a sacred place for some of the most important spiritual teachers who have meditated in the caves surrounding the lake for centuries.

Sikkim is a state of India located in the northeastern part of the country. Bordered by Tibet, Bhutan, West Bengal and Nepal, it was integrated to India in 1975. Since their incorporation, the Leptcha and Bhutia people have been struggling to preserve their culture, their language and their traditions. They speak mostly Nepali and their main spiritual practice is Tibetan Buddhism.

Ancestral Bhutia and Leptcha tradition, Tibetan Buddhism, Hindu culture and western influence all coexist in this magical place. Most families work in farms that are very well known across India for their organic agriculture. Those dedicated to the spiritual path live and study in the monasteries. Although young people have access to high quality education, unemployment is one of the major issues confronted by youth, being the main cause of emigration.

Every year this mystical town is the scene for a very important Tibetan Buddhist ceremony that takes place at the same time as a dancing and singing Sikkimese competition. Pilgrims from all around come to the lake to join both celebrations.

The weeks before the festival, kids practice hard at school and at home to prepare the choreographies and design their clothes. They present typical Nepali and Indian dances and traditional songs. A jury of distinguished locals evaluates the performances of the participants during the festival and awards are given at the closing ceremony. In the monasteries, monks work hard making tormas (flour and butter sculptures), decorating the altars, designing mandalas and studying the practice for ceremony purposes. Visitors from everywhere come to bring their offerings to the lake and pay respect to the monks to receive their blessings.

As the narrative evolves, the film delves deep into the lives of Leptcha and Bhutia people, observing their experiences, their emotions and their role in the community

The voice of the lake | La voz del lago - Crowfunding from Georgina Barreiro on Vimeo.

Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/ or write to Georgina at georginabarreiro@gmail.com.

Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/ or write to Georgina at georginabarreiro@gmail.com. 

The Voice of the Lake: A documentary

Undertake a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of a remote village immersed in the Himalayas.

The documentary is dubbed as a poetic journey into the culture and spirituality of the Leptcha and Bhutia people living in a remote village immersed in the Himalayas.

The voice of the lake | La voz del lago - Crowfunding from Georgina Barreiro on Vimeo.

The idea of the film is being developed by Georgina Barreiro, director, producer and editor, from Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Georgina and her team are looking for contribution to help them cover their travel, filming and production cost. For covering post-production costs, they plan to apply for film grants.

The team is already running a funding campaign on Indiegogo. You may contribute by visiting their page at www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/.

Help the team to raise funds for developing the documentary. You may contribute through indiegogo www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-voice-of-the-lake-documentary-music-india#/

#Buddha #Buddhism #Zen #Life #Lifestyle #wisdomwinds