Listen to a wonderfully inspiring interview with Nischala Joy Devi. This is the fourth (and last) interview in the Drishti Point Series on the Yoga Sutras . In this interview on Hatha Yoga, Nischala Joy Devi speaks about the importance of the yamas and niyamas (ethics and morality), prana and pranayam, pratyahara (withdrawl of the senses), finding sukha (happiness), and the importance of Satsang.
Listen to Anna Rodgers, Director and Producer of a documentary film, Today is Better than Two Tomorrows. Today Is Better than Two Tomorrows is a mindful observational film about two boys who must leave their village to undergo a rite of passage. One is sent to a Buddhist monastary and the other to a new town. Somewhere between Buddhist wishlessness and western dreams, their paths join again.
Anna speaks about her experience in making the film, the rhythem of life in Laos, the language difficultites, and the universal language of emotion which she successful captures on film.
Director of At the Edge of the World Dan Stone and local crew member speak about what inspires them as eco-activists, and what it means to put the yogic prinicpal of Ahimsa into action against violence and injustice.
This film is an inspiring documentary of the American Civil Rights Movement and the music and songs that were a part of it. The film features civil rights activists, archival footage of the movement as well as the speeches of Martin Luther King, and contemporary renditions of movement anthems.
This film represents a perfect example of the yogic principle of Ahimsa (non-violence). The Civil Rights Movement was a peaceful movement inspired by the ideals of Gandhi that stood up to segregation, racism, and police brutality without resorting to violence.
This film is the highlight of the Festival, and due to both screenings being sold out (and standing ovations at both), a third screening has been added on Sat.Oct.10 at 1:50pm. See www.viff.org for details and ticket info.
The stunning beauty of the Ross Sea is the backdrop to this documentary about a crew of 46 international volunteers of the Sea Sheperd Conservation Society that embark on their third Antartic campaign to stop a Japanese whaling fleet. What emerges is a harsh indictment of the lack of enforcement of international conservation laws which allows for Japanese authories to kill up to 1,000 whales each season in the name of research.
Director Dan Stone succeeds in weaving drama, suspense, and glory into a thrilling documentary about the battle between commerce and ecology.
Screenings: Thurs. Oct.1, 8:45pm, Sat.Oct.3 11:00am, Fri.Oct.16 12:40pm
See www.viff.org for more details and for tickets.
When Tibetan-born director Ngawang Choephel (musicologist and Fulbright Scholar) visits Tibet for the first time as an adult to document Tibetan folk songs, he is unprepared for the political implications of his cultural and sociological endeavor. Arrested by the Chinese authorities and sentenced to 18 years in prison, Choephels films moves quickly from the personal to the political. While much of Choephel’s Fim was seized and destroyed by the authorities, what remains is a testament to the power of music both as a weapon of indoctrination and propaganda, as well as a means of resistence.
Screenings: Sat. Oct.3 4:30pm, Sun.Oct.22 6:30pm, Mon.Oct.12 1:50pm
See www.viff.org for more details and for tickets.
[Traditional Tibetan folk music contains many lyrics that use Buddhist terms and are intertwined with a Buddhist perspective of the world.]
Home Grown is an inspiring and uplifting film about food and family. The film documents the Dervaes family, who live a few hundred feet away from a major freeway in LA and who grow 2,500-3,000 pounds of food on their 1/5 acre homestead. The film is an extrordinary example of urban sustainability, and what it means to life simply and tread lightly.
Home Grown screenings will be following by a discussion on urban gardening.
Screenings: Mon. Oct.5 8:45pm, Wed. Oct.7 3:40pm, Thurs. Oct.8, 10:45am
See www.viff.org for more details and for tickets.
Drishti Point is pleased to provide our listeners and subscribers with coverage of the 2009 Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF). Drishti Point will provide reviews of films about yoga, Buddhism, and spirituality. We will also cover cultural films about Tibet and India, films about nature and the environment, and films that may not directly relate to yoga and spirituality, but promote the ethical principals of what it means to live a yogic life.
