It is 23 May 2009 ...
Three years ago, we started pre-production work researching a documentary film on Jainism, after I met Doanld Rubin, Chairman & President of the Rubin Museum of Art in mid-June 2005. He confessed that it was his "dream wish" to have the first Jain Art Exhibition at the Rubin Museum of Art, because he possessed one of the most beautiful Jain tanka painting which he and his wife purchased on Madison Avenue thirty years ago when he was a poor man.
Today, my film team and I are reviewing over 150 hours of digital video under the title "JAIN ENLIGHTEMENT - A Way of Life." It began with three months of intensive research and development and a small budget of $10,000 which afforded uis the first R & D trip. With a second budget of $20,000 from a Jain foundation we returned to film the once-in-every 12 years celebration of the grand celebration of the Maha-mas-teka-abhishek annointment of Lord Bahubali in the small town of Shavenvelgola.
Today, my film team and I are reviewing over 150 hours of digital video under the title "JAIN ENLIGHTEMENT - A Way of Life." It began with three months of intensive research and development and a small budget of $10,000 which afforded uis the first R & D trip. With a second budget of $20,000 from a Jain foundation we returned to film the once-in-every 12 years celebration of the grand celebration of the Maha-mas-teka-abhishek annointment of Lord Bahubali in the small town of Shavenvelgola.
The digital/HD film was a witness to the trips to India where we traveled extensively researching and filming some of the most sacred Jain pilgrimages to temples of architectural perfection in Rajasthan -- Ranakpur, Mount Abu and Palitana. From Ahmedabad to Mumbai, we flew down South to the small village of Shra-ven-bel-gola in Karnataka State.
It was here that I witnessed the overwheming discovery of a warrior King called Bahu-bali, whose life story deserves a feature film in the making.
Of course, there were those ancient Jain temples in Ellora, and interviews with many academic Jain scholars, religious leaders from Swamis, monks to learned nuns, including historians well-versed in Jain art, paintings and the perfection of temple archecture.
I am indebted to my sister who arrived from Birmingham, UK, and purchased a Sony laptop with Sony Vegas Pro 8, when she learned how the Jain diamond merchant and several businessmen and women had disappeared into oblivion, after promising to fund post production.
I am indebted to my sister who arrived from Birmingham, UK, and purchased a Sony laptop with Sony Vegas Pro 8, when she learned how the Jain diamond merchant and several businessmen and women had disappeared into oblivion, after promising to fund post production.
At last, we were able to convince a Jain friend to fund the dramatic 10 minute DEMO tape to be presented to PBS, cable and WebTV networks, where post-production funding will eventually complete the unique stories and enlighten the world about the world's oldest "way of life ... dating long before the days of Alexander the Great, King Arthur and his Knights ... back beyond 5000 years ago ...
We welcome well wishers to contribute their thoughts and ideas ... as our creative juices have started with the editing the dramatic Jain rituals and life-styles interwoven in new wave music of the centuries past. We plan to get the project ready for the Rubin Museum of Art's Jain Exhibit called "VICTORIOUS ONES: Jain Images of Perfection" which opens on 18 September 2009 to 12 February 2010.
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