Monk with a Camera
Monk With A Camera: The Life And Journey of Nicholas Vreeland is a documentary film by Guido Santi and Tina Mascara. It was released in 2014. The subject of the biography is Nicholas Vreeland, a Tibetan Buddhist monk who is also a photographer, and is the first westerner to be made abbot of a major Tibetan Buddhist monastery.
The film features The 14th Dalai Lama, Richard Gere, and Vreeland's teacher, Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, as well as Vreeland' father and his half-brother Ptolemy Tompkins. The film briefly shows The Tibet Center, the Tibetan Buddhist center in New York City which was founded by Khyongla Rato, and where both he and Vreeland teach, as well as showing in some detail Rato Dratsang Monastery, a re-established Tibetan monastery in Karnataka Province in India, which has been Vreeland's home for most of his adult life.
Plot
Nicholas Vreeland grew up in a life of privilege and wealth, being the son of Frederick Vreeland, a notable diplomat, and the grandson of Diana Vreeland the famous fashion editor. However, as a young man, Vreeland left that life to become a monk in Rato Monastery in India.[1]
During his years as a monk, Vreeland struggles with his relationship with the camera, finding it almost impossible to give up being a photographer, but worrying that his attachment to photography as an artistic pursuit may compromise his dedication to the spiritual path.
When promised funding for the rebuilding of the monastery falls through because of the global financial crisis in 2008, Vreeland's abilities as a photographer become the means to raise the funds necessary to complete the building project.
In 2012, the Dalai Lama appoints Vreeland as abbot of the monastery.[2]
Reception
The website RogerEbert.com commented that the film's portrait of Vreeland shows, "an inner odyssey as extraordinary as any journey across continents, mountain ranges and time zones".[3]
In a review, Variety magazine said the film has an "attractive mix of retro celebrity and spiritual appeal".
References
External links
- Official website: http://asphalt-stars.squarespace.com/#about-the-film
- Vreeland's website: http://nicholasvreeland.com
- The Tibet Center website: http://thetibetcenter.org/schedule/
- Rato Dratsang Foundation website: http://www.ratodratsangfoundation.org/photos_for_rato/index.html