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Meet the Filmmakers: Vitaly Manski--'Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV'

By Tom White


Over the next month, we at IDA will be introducing our community to the filmmakers whose work will be represented in the DocuWeeksTM Theatrical Documentary Showcase, July 31-August 20 in New York City and Los Angeles. We asked the filmmakers to share the stories behind their films--the inspirations, the challenges and obstacles, the goals and objectives, the reactions to their films so far.

So, to continue this series of conversations, here is Vitaly Manski, director/writer of Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV.

Synopsis: Sunrise/Sunset: Dalia Lama XIV depicts a nominal 24 hours spent by the film crew inside the residence of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, from the beginning of his day, which starts at 3:00 a.m., until sunset, when the Buddhist leader goes to bed. Filmmaker Vitaly Manski also got a chance to enjoy an informal conversation about the essence of the universe and the role an individual has to play in religion in general and Buddhism in particular in the framework of contemporary society.

IDA: How did you get started in documentary filmmaking?

Vitaly Manski: In the Soviet years, I studied at the Moscow Film School, and was planning to make fiction movies. But by the end of my study years, Soviet power suddenly disappeared. Documentaries became the first media to tell people the truth about their tragic history and complex present. That was when I came to documentaries in the wake of perestoika. I realized what happiness was: to shoot real life, get immersed in the reality, discover real people--sometimes simple, sometimes great. Since then, I have been repeatedly offered to turn to fiction films. And I always answer with refusal.

IDA: What inspired you to make Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV?

VM: For many people--at least in Russia--the Dalai Lama is a brand name, as far from reality as Michael Jackson or Mickey Mouse. But why do the world's political leaders so intently listen to him? Why has he millions of worshippers and followers all over the world? What can we teach from a person living in a monastery located in a small village in the Indian Himalayas? These issues were enough for me to wish to make a film about the Dalai Lama XIV.

IDA: What were some of the challenges and obstacles in making this film, and how did you overcome them?

VM: The main problem we had was when we arrived at the residence of His Holiness in Dharamsala for primary research, and watched 25 documentary films about the Dalai Lama in his library. These films were produced by the world's largest broadcasters, and their authors were sometimes prominent filmmakers. But not in a single movie could I  feel a living person--maybe divine, but close to us, living among us. We wanted very much to avoid being authors of just another 26th or 27th film. At the first meeting, His Holiness talked on a topic that was very exciting for me. As a result, we agreed to shoot our film. And later, when the entire crew arrived, all agreements were completely fulfilled by our hero and his staff.

Another problem occurred when the film was ready and premiered at the Moscow International Festival. The Chinese embassy exerted pressure on the festival with the "request" to withdraw the film from the competition and not give it any prizes. On a meeting with the filmmakers, the embassy representative said that our film was fueling armed rebellion in Chinese Tibet. But the most ridiculous part of this was that all these statements were made by people who had not seen the movie!

IDA: How did your vision for the film change over the course of the pre-production, production and post-production processes?

VM: After getting acquainted with the Dalai Lama and communicating with him for long enough, I realized that no kind of documentary would be able to contain the whole of this person. Therefore, I focused exclusively on issues of my personal concern. The answers to these questions frame the film.

IDA:  As you've screened Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV-whether on the festival circuit, or in screening rooms, or in living rooms-how have audiences reacted to the film? What has been most surprising or unexpected about their reactions?

VM: Some viewers expressed their desire to leave for India to have teachings in Himalayan Buddhist monasteries. Somebody said something about opening a new horizon of self. And one intellectual said that the filmmakers, despite all their efforts, failed to unmask the global populist in the Dalai Lama.

IDA:  What docs or docmakers have served as inspirations for you?

VM: For over 10 years, I have been shooting my films at the Moscow documentary studio that bears the name of Dziga Vertov. Vertov for me is not just a great documentary film director; he is a pioneer. From the dried-up documents that newsreel was at the beginning of the century, he created a direction in visual arts--a documentary film.

Sunrise/Sunset: Dalai Lama XIV will be screening at the ArcLight Hollywood Cinema in Los Angeles and the IFC Center in New York City.

To download the DocuWeeksTM program in Los Angeles, click here.

To purchase tickets for DocuWeeksTM in Los Angeles, click here.

To download the DocuWeeksTM program in New York, click here.

To purchase tickets for DocuWeeksTM in New York, click here.