[Buddha-l] FYI---Films on Theravada Buddhism

[Jo]

>From Joanna K.

See:  http://www.buddhistfilmfoundation.org    page has a list of festival
film offerings over years.
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X-posted from risa-l, Thanks for these to Michael Jerryson.

 •  Blue Collar and Buddha (1987, USA/Laos): 57 minutes. A film about
Buddhism among Lao refugees in rural Illinois; it opens with the attempted
bombing of the wat and portrays the tension between the Lao Buddhists and
the surrounding White population.
•  The Buddha Comes to Sussex (1979, England, Thailand): 35 minutes.
Chronicles Achaan Chah’s visit to London. An example of reverse colonialism!
Full access at http://www.watnongpahpong.org/videobcs.php 
•  Buddha’s Lost Children (2006, Thailand): 97 minutes
•  Burmese Harp (1967, Burma): 116 minutes.
•  Friends in High Places (2001, Burma): 56 minutes.
•  Deacon of Death (2004, Cambodia): 65 minutes.
•  Dharma River: Journey of a Thousand Buddhas (2005, Laos, Thailand,
Burma): 80 minutes
•  “Exploitation of Women in Buddhism” from What Harm Is It to Be a
Woman? (2005?, Thailand): 33 minutes. It centers on work being done by
religious female leaders in Thailand to redefine their place in Buddhism.
•  Footprint of the Buddha (1978, Sri Lanka): 54 minutes
•  Journey into Thailand: The Middle Path (1986, Thailand): 29 minutes.
•  The Life and Work of Buddhadasa Bhikkhu (1987, Thailand): 25 minutes.   
•  The Mindful Way (1970, Thailand): 25 minutes. A documentary about Achaan
Chah and Wat Nong Pah Pong. Full access at
http://www.watnongpahpong.org/videomfw.php .
•  Prajna Earth: Journey into Sacred Nature (2004, Bali, Cambodia, Java): 80
minutes
•  Samsara: Death and Rebirth in Cambodia (1989, Cambodia): 16 minutes. This
uses passages from the Dhammapada juxtaposed with the depiction of efforts
to reestablish society in post-Pol Pot Cambodia.
•  Today is Better than Two Tomorrows (2009, Laos): 75 minutes.
•  Vejen (1971, SEA, Burma): 22 minutes. this is an old film with a title in
Danish meaning 'the Way'
Films that provide contemporary contexts for Southeast Asian Buddhism
•  Mekhong Full Moon Party (2002, Thailand): 119 minutes. A wonderful Thai
commercial film that explores the tensions between modernity and
"tradition," countryside and city, reason and myth, science and religion.
Full access at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-_u69_hSQA .
•  Nang Nak (1999, Thailand): 101 minutes. One of the more recent depictions
of the famous myth of a devoted ghost wife and an unsuspecting husband.

Article on Southeast Asian Buddhist Films
•  Justin McDaniel, “The Emotional Lives of Buddhist Monks in Modern Thai
Film,” Journal of Religion and Film 14.2 (2010):