LETS MAKE A FILM 

About Buddhism and the West 

in the 21st Century

(and create a legacy, together!)

..play the video, now .~_~,*

Thank You all for the extraordinary solidarity with the vision and process of the launching this film. It's your commitment that will make REFUGE ~ The Journeys available to others!!

Comment: 

If, what might be considered a "plethora" of films about Buddhist themes and stories are being released soon, let's realize how profound the cultural evolution in the West is and celebrate that so many unique voices are being heard by a huge variety of audiences and communities around the world. 

Films by Lisa Leeman/Johanna Demetrakas (CRAZY WISDOM), Jennifer Fox (MY REINCARNATION), Victress Hitchcock (WHEN THE IRON BIRD FLIES), and more, are among this great portfolio of film adventures.

REFUGE ~ The Journeys brings very intimate storytelling techniques in feature length, to the themes of refuge and enlightenment. It brings us up-to-date with the Buddha's impact in the world today, taking us on a cultural journey spanning the past 60 years and the individual spiritual and artistic paths of His Holiness the Dalai Lama, other Tibetan masters, Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo, filmmaker Martin Scorsese and other artists who have contributed to this phenomenon in popular culture.

Charitable Donations

The BUDDHIST FILM FOUNDATION Will Pledge Your Contributions Here On KICKSTARTER. BUDDHIST FILM FOUNDATION, a not-for-profit educational organization, is a fiscal sponsor of REFUGE ~ The Journeys. Each dollar donated will be put toward our Kickstarter Campaign (less a small processing fee). 

GO TO: http://www.mdsfilms.com/  and follow the Yellow Donate Button- Thank You!

(in development stage)

REFUGE ~ The Journeys  

tells the story of Buddhism and the West in the crossroads of the 21st Century. 

The film begins in the 1950’s when beatniks, artists, poets and writers made journeys to the East in search of spiritual wisdom. At the same time, Tibetan masters, escaping the Chinese invasion in Tibet sought REFUGE, in India. As Western pilgrims and Eastern refugees met, a cultural transformation began that impacted the world. 

"Halpern's premise is that as exiled Tibetan spiritual leaders have sought material refuge in the West, overstressed Americans and Europeans have found refuge in the faith and philosophy they brought with them. In the process, an intriguing, unfinished new synthesis of East and West has been created." Andrew O'Hehir - salon.com  

A Film About Buddhism and West, in the 21st Century

~*~

REFUGE ~ The Journeys

Features the personal and private journeys of 

His Holiness the Dalai Lama

The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet 

Dzongzar Jamyang Khyentse

Founder Siddhartha’s Intent, director THE CUP 

Venerable Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo

founder Dongyal Gyatsal Ling

Martin Scorsese

director KUNDUN

Oliver Stone

writer/director NATURAL BORN KILLERS

Bernardo Bertolucci

director LITTLE BUDDHA

His Holiness Shenphen Dawa Rinpoche

regent Dudjom Tersar Lineage, son of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche 

The Sakyong Mipham

leader of Shambhala International and son of Trungpa Rinpoche

Khenchen Palden Sherap

Khyempo Tsewang Dongyal

founders Padmasambava Buddhist Centers 

Melissa Mathison 

screenwriter KUNDUN

Nicholas Vreeland

director The Tibet Center New York, monk

Richard Gere

founder Gere Foundation, actor 

Philip Glass

composer  KUNDUN

and more

These outstanding storytellers are witnesses and the protagonists of our story.  As they leave their cultures, finding refuge in each other’s worlds, a spiritual and cultural movement began that changed the world, forever.

NY TIMES - All Movie Guide
Jason Buchanan

"... His Holiness the Dalai Lama addresses a variety of rarely discussed topics related to the current state of Buddhism in a live discussion held in the Buddhist high priest's living room in Dharamsala, India."

REFUGE ~ The Journeys  captures the drama and passion of our main characters as they discover enlightenment in each other's world's against the evolving backdrop of today's fast-moving, East/West culture.

In the 1950’s, discouraged by a growing nihilism in the West, artists, writers, beatniks and intellectuals,flocked East to discover the ­recently exiled Tibetan masters, and a different, refreshing, spiritual path. 

Initiated by those early contacts in India, the next 50 years gave birth to astonishing and fast developments: a migration of meditation masters to the West; eastern spiritual paths and western analytic, mental paths meeting; the international flourishing of Buddhist and meditation centers; publishing of millions of books about Buddhism and mind; the Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize Laureate, celebrated and honored, world wide; Hollywood film productions like, LITTLE BUDDHA, SEVEN YEARS IN TIBET, KUNDUN and MATRIX, meditation and the vocabulary of "enlightenment" becoming everyday household terms. And it seems that as society, ecology and the integrity of conventional culture seem to falter, a stronger interest and  knowledge about the mind seems to rise. 

REFUGE ~ The Journeys  brings us up-to-speed with today’s Buddhism, it's protagonists and it's heirs, and the ways in which Buddhism and Western society; their sciences, cultures, views of self, humanity, ecology and enlightenment, seem to be merging. 

The new 90 minute film is the longer version of the original REFUGE, a 57 minute film about two cultures and the refuge they find in each other.

See 7

REFUGE Clips on Vimeo..

 "REFUGE makes clear that while the West offered refuge to the Dalai Lama and other Tibetans in exile, they returned the gesture by offering Westerners a spiritual haven." Jay Carr, AM NewYork

Film’s Background 

The shooting began 24 years ago with a tour of the Dalai Lama through America, and the funeral ceremonies of H.H. Dudjom Rinpoche, a Buddhist master, in Nepal. It continued in Tibet, U.S., India, Nepal, Canada and Europe.

When I first began I wanted to convey a vivid feeling about Tibetan Buddhism to Western audiences.

Upon the release of KUNDUN and equipped with '0' funding I approached Swiss TV, with great enthusiasm, to shoot a short film:

Why were Western filmmakers making movies like: 

LITTLE BUDDHA, KUNDUN, about reincarnation, 

the Dalai Lama, and Buddhism?

Confident that Martin Scorsese, Bernardo Bertolucci and Oliver Stone would openly speak about their experiences, I hoped their statements would also convey to audiences the creative, relevant and empowering qualities of Tibetan Buddhist philosophy and practice, today.

"If either Scorsese, Stone or Glass say yes, we’ll do it.”

Swiss TV 

~*~  ~*~   ~*~ 

"..He's not afraid to explore the sexual and financial scandals that have affected some Buddhist ventures in the West, or the tendency of some overly enthusiastic Western practitioners to breed an isolated, cult-like atmosphere.”  Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com

The Film Continues

As serious interest in Buddhism grows in the West, a new generation of Tibetan masters continues to explore how the teachings can be adapted, here. So, the ongoing story of East and West encountering each other provides an exciting, dramatic narrative for the longer, REFUGE ~ The Journeys .

While developing it’s narrative and story beats:

REFUGE ~ The  Journeys  expands the idea that Tibetan culture and Buddhism are two distinct things. 

Some of the themes:

·      Is Buddhism taking root in the West or is this a passing interest inspired by historic events and a mutual fascination with ‘the other?’

·      Are we discovering that a deeper, more common human experience between East ~ West exists, that transcends both?

·      Are we developing an East~West vocabulary and practices to help navigate the subtle activities of mind and unconscious?

·      Are Eastern methods working to enhance a clear vision of mind, to expand our ways of seeing ‘self,’ emotion, and to changing our collective mentalities, responsibilities and behavior?     

·      And how do traditionally educated Tibetan masters view this transformation and the Buddhism that is evolving in the West? 

In our celebrity-driven society, filmmakers are partly responsible for this rapid growth in awareness, by creating serious works influenced by Buddhist tenets or by publicly recognizing its potential benefits."

A Personal Message

The experience of working with these exceptional teachers, gifted artists and friends is a rare and privileged one for me. They are always so effusive and generous during our filming, and interviews always run longer than expected.

The opportunity to bring these unique stories and personalities together in a new, longer film for the broader public is calling me.

Although we had exceptional interviews and very personal, narrative stories from everyone, we only had enough money to edit the 57 minute REFUGE (executive producer DB Pictures). 

So, I hope you will join me in the great adventure of creating REFUGE ~ The  Journeys,  by contributing to the new East~West legacy through your pledges here on Kickstarter!!

Funding FAQs

We need $13,000, now, to:

• Re-write The Script

• To film relevant events occurring NOW

• Edit A Fundraising Trailer

• Create A Presentation Package For Final Completion Funds

When you pledge a $1 

You're part of the project and we will keep you up-to-date and respond to all your comments, suggestions or questions. WE are making this film together. So, no matter what level of pledging you're into, you're part of the filmmaking family and process. If you have better gift ideas than ours, please suggest! The more you pledge the more of the project will be yours at home to share and the MORE the LEGACY will grow! 

Thank you for being on the journey!

TIME OUT 
Joshua Land 

"TALKING WITH THE DALAI LAMA, devotes its entire length to a wide-ranging Q&A with Tibetan Buddhism's leader. Radiating spiritual discipline and a profound sense of laughter in both films, His Holiness is surely his faith's best advertisement."

After We Reach $13,000...

The final completion budget for REFUGE ~ The  Journeys will require:

• Research

• Additional shooting

• Rights Acquisition

• Post-Production

• Music Composition

• Titles, Color Correction and Sound Mix

 

BE A CULTURAL ACTIVIST

CREATE A LEGACY 

Dear Kickstarter Activist ,

What we have here with Kickstarter is an innovative, highly effective social media and community rallying vehicle.

Just as we do with Ecology or Human Rights, I ask that we please contribute to films and other cultural projects that inspire and enhance enlightened activism.

While "eco and rights" campaigns fight the urgent battles we need to win on the ground now, films and enlightened culture plant the seeds for a more responsible, sustainable and beautiful future.

Thank you for being part of the journey and for contributing to the legacy about Buddhism and the West in film, for future generations.

Thanks and all the best!

John DiLeva~Halpern

“finding refuge in each other’s worlds, a spiritual and cultural movement

was born and the world changed, forever.”

MEDIA IS

MIND

THE FUTURE IS IN

YOUR MOUSE 

BE A PRODUCER 

NOW 

.~_~,*