PERREAULT Magazine MAY | JUNE 2016 | Page 29

Our film is something of an anomaly. It was made independently. It’s a strange length. It premiered at a film festival in the mountains of Telluride, and it’s about the healing power of love and compassion. And yet it has screened on HBO in the US, won twenty international awards, and introduced thousands to a remarkable social experiment on a Himalayan hilltop. How on earth did that happen?

We encountered Lobsang through a remarkable set of coincidences. Looking back we suspect he was beaming out some kind of signal out that we unwittingly tuned in to. But it was clear from first meeting that his story needed to be shared. People living their calling have the wind in their sails. It doesn’t mean they are having an easy life, far from it. In fact it can be unimaginably challenging (and in Lobsang’s case it often is), but there is a kind of deeper peace that comes with it. I think we all secretly wish we were living like that. Really doing it, really listening to the inner voice.

This film is the story of an abandoned child who grew up, became a monk, and decided to create the family he never had for other abandoned children. It’s about a wild little girl who learns how to make a friend. But for us it was also about two filmmakers rediscovering a passion for making films.

There is a lot of suffering in the world, and there are lots of films about this suffering. We believe there need to be more stories told which show a path out of suffering - hopeful and inspiring stories which can change hearts and lives. Hopefully this film is one of those.

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ABOUT THE FILMMAKERS

ANDREW hINTON

johnny burke