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HOW-TO, Techniques, & Best Practices Channel
The Monk Who Would Be a Director: Neten Chokling on "Milarepa"
By Staff
posted Jan 26, 2010, 08:09 |
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Check out this article in the print edition of StudentFilmmakers
Magazine, October 2006. More photos featured in the print edition.
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The
Monk Who Would Be a Director
Neten Chokling on "Milarepa"
by Larry Jaffee
Neten Chokling may be the only monk in history who can claim to be a feature
film director. Milarepa, currently making the rounds of the film festival circuit,
depicts the humble beginnings of the man who was to become Tibet�s greatest
saint.
The film was recently shown at the DGA in New York, and it�s getting a theatrical
release at the end of October in San Rafael, CA. Other screenings have occurred
in Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Vancouver, and Korea. Audiences have favorably
compared Milarepa to The Lord of the Rings trilogy.
A true story based on centuries-old oral traditions, Milarepa tells the story
of a boy propelled into a world of sorrow and betrayal after his father�s sudden
death. Destitute and hopeless, his mother sends her son once he becomes a teenager
to learn black magic � and exact revenge on their enemies � encountering magicians,
demons, an enigmatic teacher and unexpected mystical power along the way.
Chokling was born in 1973 in Wandipodzong, Bhutan, a landlocked South Asian
nation situated between India and Tibet, People�s Republic of China. He is the
spiritual head of the Pema Ewam Choegar Gyurmeling Monastery (www.gyurmeling.com)
in India and Tibet.
Fascinated with the power of cinematic art and the emotional influence of storytelling
through sound and moving pictures, Chokling had no formal film education before
making Milarepa. However, he had a taste of film production, working as principal
actor in Khyentse Norbu�s The Cup and assisted in Norbu�s latest production
Travellers and Magicians as a stuntman, assistant to the director and 2nd unit
director.
For Milarepa, Chokling also managed to attract some experienced Western film
professionals, such as editor Suzy Elmiger, whose impressive credits include
cutting films for the likes of Woody Allen and Robert Altman, while Milarepa�s
special effects supervisor, John P. Nugent, worked on The Lord of the Rings
trilogy, Terminator 3, and The Matrix.
Photographed in the stunning Himalayas, Lahaul-Spiti region of Northern India,
Milarepa uses English subtitles and is in the Tibetan language.
StudentFilmmakers: For how long had you wanted to
make a film about Milarepa?
Neten Chokling: I wanted to make a film on Milarepa for many
years, but we started working on it only two months before preproduction/ filming.
The thought was there for years, but that thought materialized only two months
before the whole production.
StudentFilmmakers: What kind of formal film production
training had you received prior to Milarepa?
Neten Chokling: I have never been to a film school.
StudentFilmmakers: How were you able to make such
a film with no film training?
Neten Chokling: In the Tibetan culture, we believe that if
a work or a project is based on good motivations (and is able to benefit people
in a positive way), the work or project has the backing and the protection of
the �soong-mas� or the �protectors.� These are supernatural entities, either
in male, female or in the form of animals. So in a way, it is sort of like Lord
of the Rings. But in �real life,� in order to get the Ring, the main character
gets the protection of specific characters on the way.
The other reason why I think I was able to make this even though I had no training
as a filmmaker is because of karma...it required a lot of patience, determination
and optimism even in the worst days but because of my �karma,� I was to be the
one who would slough and bring the story of Milarepa to the film medium. The
film was worth everything that we went through.
StudentFilmmakers: Speaking of Lord of the Rings,
Milarepa reminds me of Peter Jackson�s trilogy in many ways: a sweeping epic,
the spiritual journey aspects of both stories� only that yours is a biopic,
not a work of fiction, the majestic mountainous backdrop, etc. Do you see a
similar connection?
Neten Chokling: Yes. Many people tell me that there are similarities
to the Lords of the Rings trilogy... the only difference is the budget. Mine
is not even 1% of the budget of the trilogy.
StudentFilmmakers: Did you shoot film or DV?
Neten Chokling: The film was shot in super 16mm. Post production
was done in New York. Picture editing was done on Avid. The size of the budget
was USD $1.5 million. The most amazing part of this film was the fact that most
of the crew and cast were monks from my monastery in India. The monks were of
course, wearing wigs!
StudentFilmmakers: How was it working with inexperienced
actors?
Neten Chokling: Working with inexperienced actors was difficult.
First of all, I myself didn�t have any experience, and on top of that, I had
to teach them how to act! When they got the act ready, they forgot the lines!
It was tough but also very funny. We had good laughs.
Continued
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