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Press Release
2009-04-22
London to host
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| Directors associated with IBFF 2009 LONDON include: | |
| - | Martin Scorcese |
| - | Werner Herzog |
| - | Woody Allen |
| - | Meredith Monk |
| - | Bernado Bertolucci |
| - | Doris Dörrie |
| Actors with films at IBFF 2009 LONDON include: | |
| - | Ewan MacGregor |
| - | Johnny Depp |
| - | Bill Murray |
| - | Jake Gyllenhaal |
| - | John Cleese |
| - | Forest Whitaker |
| Musical talent with work featured at IBFF 2009 LONDON include: | |
| - | Leonard Cohen |
| - | Ippy Pop |
| - | Neil Young |
| - | Bono |
| - | Philip Glass |
| - | RZA |
Forty-six films – covering dramatic features, comedies, documentaries and animated features - from 18 countries will be shown. Schedule and ticket purchases will be available on the Barbican website www.barbican.org.uk and at the Barbican box office on Silk Street in London.
Robert Rider, Head of Cinema, Barbican Centre, said: "Barbican Film is proud to be hosting the International Buddhist Film Festival and to be working in partnership with the Festival organisers. We look forward to welcoming audiences to the Barbican for this prestigious and timely Festival which may enable us all to look at our world in a different light.”
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A special opening night gala reception will launch the International Buddhist Film Festival, with a unique screening of The Light of Asia – the story of the Buddha - backed by an original Indian score from a talented group from Amsterdam and Mexico City.
The Light of Asia will get the festival off to a spectacular start. The rare 1925 German/Indian co-production is based on Sir Edwin Arnold's famous 19th century book. The first edition of the book was published in London in 1879 – giving the gala screening to open the IBFF at London’s Barbican 130 years later a special resonance. Also known by its Indian name Prem Sanyas, the film tells the story of the historic Prince Siddhartha and his journey to becoming Buddha. There will be a live performance of an original musical score by a group from Amsterdam led by sitarist Sidartha Siliceo.
Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of IBFF said: "The Light of Asia is a classic Buddhist story, one that is sure to excite those already familiar with it - and people being introduced to it for the first time. The Barbican is a magical setting for this title and the perfect place to combine the beauty of the film with an incredible musical accompaniment.
“There will be live performance of an original musical score from a group led by sitarist Sidartha Siliceo, with Julia Ohrmann on flute, Lenneke Van Staalen on violin, and Heiko Dijker on tabla – this is a performance that will produce perfect harmony between screen, sound and imagination and it can’t be missed.”
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The International Buddhist Film Festival incorporates a series of programming strands; all focusing on the deeper thematic issues in and around the titles on show. These offer festival-goers the chance to understand the story behind the stories in the films being presented.
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Playing on the iconic London safety warning, this strand will focus on the Buddhist concept of the bardo. It means the ‘interval’ – or the ‘gap’ and refers to the intermediate state between one life and the next.
The term can also refer to other transitional spaces, even the space between birth and death – such as life itself. A number of filmmakers have taken this concept as an inspiration and explored the possibilities as drama, sometimes specifically referencing the many psychological demons and obstacles presented in the Tibetan Book of the Dead (actually known as the Bardo Thodol, or Liberation through Hearing in the Intermediate State), and sometimes taking great poetic license. IBFF 2009 LONDON will explore this profound and perceptive theme through a series of films, including Dead Man, Stay and Donnie Darko.
Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of IBFF said: "Londoners are, of course, used to ‘minding the gap’ almost every working day. But with this fascinating strand playing such a key role in the festival, we’re hoping that every time they hear that immortal phrase they will have a new thought about what the phrase might mean. The films showing as part of this strand range from renowned American classics to some little-known gems that fell off the radar. I’ve no doubt that this is a programming strand that will capture the imagination of all Londoners.”
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Buddhist ideas and practices are embraced by people from all over the world, and not always in obvious or traditional forms. The Profiles strand will explore Buddhist ideas through well-known artists.
What’s become remarkable over the last few decades is the enormous range, the diversity of experience and expression evident among people who identify themselves as “Buddhist” in some way. Films in this section include Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts, Inner Voice: Meredith Monk, Sogyal Rinpoche – Ancient Wisdom in the Modern World and Leonard Cohen: I’m Your Man.
Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of IBFF said: "This strand explores Buddhist themes and ideas in the broadest possible fashion. The festival is all about opening up a fresh perspective on Buddhism and by focusing on these well-known personalities, this is a brilliant way to engage a new audience with these ideas and open up these thoughts to a wider range of people.”
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A supporting event focusing on the world’s only independent television and radio broadcaster exclusively devoted to Buddhist content.
Since 2001, there has been one independent television and radio broadcaster in the world exclusively devoted to Buddhist content: BOS in Amsterdam, part of the Public Broadcasting System there.
The Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation (Boeddhistische Omroep Stichting in Dutch, or BOS) produces and licenses programs to be broadcast in the Netherlands, and distributed to other broadcasters around the world.
IBFF 2009 LONDON will screen eight BOS-associated titles at this year’s festival. BOS founder and program director Babeth VanLoo, who also directed, co-directed, or produced several of the films, will be attending the festival over its first weekend.
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Alongside the special feature programming strands the International Buddhist Film Festival will feature several supporting events.
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The International Buddhist Film Festival is taking a close look at animation; looking at how Buddhist themes and ideas can be explored through the artform, focusing on the award-winning Kihachiro Kawamoto.
This supporting event will prove Japanese animation is not limited to just anime - Kihachiro Kawamoto, born in 1925, is regarded as the master of Japanese puppet animation and this event will take an unprecedented close look at his work.
From an early age, he was captivated by the art of doll and puppet making. During the 1950s, he began working alongside Japan’s first stop motion animator, the legendary Tadahito Mochinaga, and in the 60s he studied under Czech animation legend Jiri Trnka. Famous for his beautiful, expressive puppets, Kawamoto integrates the traditional art forms of Noh, Bunraku doll theatre, and Kabuki into a unique aesthetic to visually stunning effect.
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IBFF 2009 LONDON will include a retrospective collection of films looking at human rights around the globe, focusing closely on the award-winning work of filmmaker Ellen Bruno.
Ellen Bruno’s films on human rights in Asia have won numerous awards and have aired on national public television in the US and in over a dozen foreign countries. She served as coordinator for the International Rescue Committee’s family reunification program in refugee camps on the Thai-Cambodian border, and she later served for four years as director of the Cambodian Women’s Project for the American Friends Service Committee.
Bruno completed a Master’s Degree in Documentary Film at Stanford University in 1990. She was the recipient of a 1998 Guggenheim, a 1997 Rockefeller, a 1995 Shenkin (Yale), and 1992/1994/1997 Western States Regional Media Arts Fellowships.
Ellen’s films being shown at the Barbican as part of IBFF 2009 LONDON include: Satya, Sacrifice and Sky Burial. She is expected to attend the festival.
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Babeth VanLoo is hosting a debate on Buddhist and multicultural broadcasting in the media. He directed, codirected, or produced several of the films being presented at IBFF 2009 LONDON. His event will show clips and discuss Buddhist content and public television; obligations, responsibilities and opportunities; role of government funding; audience response/support; multiculturalism and the mainstream.
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IBFF & Buddhist Film Society
The International Buddhist Film Festival takes place at the Barbican from Thursday May 7 to 17th. The IBFF showcases cinema which inspires a fresh perspective on Buddhism from around the globe, and is a programme of the Buddhist Film Society, Inc.
The Buddhist Film Society, Inc. is an independent non-profit educational organisation based in Oakland California.
The BFS Advisory Council includes Philip Glass, Alice Walker, Richard Gere, Maxine Hong Kingston, Huston Smith, Lisa Lu and Robert Thurman. For more information log on to www.ibff.org
The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation
The Many Faces of Buddhism is presented in London by The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation, a Hong Kong based philanthropic organisation committed to fostering Chinese arts and culture.
Working towards these goals with global perspective, the Foundation supports arts and Buddhist programmes both in its home base and internationally. The Foundation is presenting these events in conjunction with the opening in late April of The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Gallery at the V&A featuring the first permanent collection of Asian Buddhist Sculpture in Great Britain. For more information log on to www.rhfamilyfoundation.org
The Many Faces of Buddhism
The Many Faces of Buddhism is a series of arts and cultural events drawing on Buddhist cultural traditions, and presented in London from Saturday 25 April to Sunday 17th of May. The programme will include visual arts, artist talks, dance, films and more.
The events illustrate an array of art forms produced by varied cultures of Buddhist practitioners throughout the world, and which represent the many faces of this ancient philosophy. The series’ goal is to inspire and encourage the public to better understand Buddhism through its art. For more information log on to www.rhfamilyfoundation.org/manyfaces
The Barbican
The Barbican Centre is the largest performing arts centre in Europe. It hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhibitions.
It also houses a library, three restaurants, and a conservatory. The London Symphony Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra are based in the Barbican Centre's concert hall.
For more information log on to www.barbican.org.uk
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For further information / Use of pictures / Interviews
| Idea Generation | : | +44(0)20 7749 6850 |
| Anna Hartley | : | annah@ideageneration.co.uk |
| Paul Woodmansey | : | paul@ideageneration.co.uk |
| Paul Drury | ; | pauld@ideageneration.co.uk |
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