Samples from catalog of completed documentaries, feature films, shorts and works-in-progress
A Rainbow Colored Fish:
This film documents the life of Mandarin fish, one of the most colourful and sought after subjects for underwater camera operators and photographers. Filmed on location around Palau Island in the Pacific, this film has some stunning natural history imagery and beautiful underwater filming.
Spiti and the Kalchakra:
This was the 2000 year Kalchakra ceremony, with the Dalai Lama in attendance. The story is to revolve around Lochen Tulku, the 19th reincarnation of the man who brought Buddhism to Kashmir. We show his life, as a normal resident of Delhi - shopping, going to office, with his wife and children, and then his other existence, as the Spiritual head of the Key Monastery in Spiti. He presided over the Kalchakra ceremonies and hosted the Dalai Lama, in his ceremonial robes. A study in contrast. Shot over two months, in the summer of 2000, on Digi Beta PAL. Some 15 hours of excellent Digi Beta footage with about 3 hours on Mini DV... Production expenditure: $2, 51, 000.
The Nanda Devi Raj Jat Yatra:
The Raj Jat Yatra is held annually, in Garhwal. The Raj Jat Yatra is held once in twelve years. This is a study of the pilgrimage, shot over two months in the monsoon of 2000, following the thousands of pilgrims and the four-horned goat which leads the procession, from the lower hills to the 18, 000 foot high Roopkund Lake (where hundreds of skeletons lie in the still icy water, untraced but several hundred years old. One story has it that these are the remains of General Zorawar Singh's army, after they were hit by an avalanche) and the mountains around the outer ring of the Nanda Devi sanctuary. Shot under dangerous monsoon conditions, this is rare footage. Acquired on Digi Beta. Some 15 hours of Digi Beta and 2 hours of Mini DV footage.
Production expenditure: $1, 77, 000.
Indian Army Everest Expedition 2001: Ode to Sagarmatha
Not another Everest expedition, you would say! But this footage has unique and interesting footage, and sub-stories. We have footage on the visually-impaired climber (Eric Weinheimer) who summitted in the summer of 2000. We have footage of Babu Chherri Sherpa, who climbed Everest eleven times before he died, a day after our interview. He also holds the record for the fastest ascent of Everest (under 17 hours!) and the maximum length of time spent at the summit (some 21 hours!). A lot of similar interesting stories, apart from the main storyline of the Indian Army ascent of Everest, which resulted in eleven climbers atop the summit. Shot on Digi Beta and three 3 DV cameras, between March and June 2001. Over 40 hours of footage.
Production expenditure: $98, 500.
The mysteries of Nanda Devi:
Shot in the summer of 2001, this footage is unique and rare. Digi Beta and Mini DV. 15 hours of footage. Shot in May-June 2001. Production expenditure: $1, 81, 000.
Nanda Devi has always been considered the ultimate Himalayan peak by climbers from around the world. The region has been shut-off from the rest of the world for twenty years now. The future of the region apart, what we saw and filmed during the expedition is a priceless record of new-age frontier expeditioning and travel, in a world where the existing geographical frontiers of exploration are fast diminishing...
The history of Nanda Devi dates back to 1936 when Tilman and Odell first climbed the peak; their ascent was billed as "the most outstanding mountaineering success of the pre-Second World War era". John Roskelly's book entitled 'Nanda Devi' centered around the sad expedition during which Nanda Devi Unsoeld (the daughter of Willi Unsoeld, the famous mountaineer), died while climbing the peak after which she was named.
Then there was the 1970's controversy where the CIA apparently placed a nuclear-powered tracking device atop the peak, to monitor activity in China's Lop Nor nuclear project, and the subsequent disappearance of the same. This sparked off many rumours internationally, with many interpretations of the cause of its disappearance...
This film shows some of the highest and most imposing Himalayan summits, and the route into the sanctuary, through the near impregnable gorge one must travel through, to gain access to the core of the Nanda Devi sanctuary.
Heli-skiing in the Himalaya:
This is a documentary examination of the adventure sport of Helicopter Skiing and how it is run in the Himalaya. The expert Swiss pilots of Himachal Heli Skiing take the viewer up to the high Himalaya, and through some of the most exhilarating runs of skiing and snow-boarding anywhere in the world. Shot from as high as 20, 000 feet in the air, from a helicopter with doors removed, the aerial views of the Himalaya in this film are stunning. A new and unique production, it expands the definition of an adventure sport and wilderness documentary. Rough cut ready. Over 50 hours of footage. Three years in the making (1998-2001). Production expenditure: $1, 95, 000.
The Tiger of Indian Waters: the mighty mahseer:
Currently in production. A film on the most sporting fish in the world. Digi Beta, 2001-2005. Will be ready for post in December 2005.
A Shivalik Monsoon:
A first-time-ever intimate look into the life of the Paradise Flycatcher, certainly the most beautiful and widely-distributed bird of the Indian subcontinent. We decided to use the Paradise Flycatcher as the main element and then focus in on the unique bird and animal life of this micro bio-zoo-geographic zone that has never been filmed in isolation before. Sandwiched as it is between two strong personalities - that of the brash, young and altitudinally-impressive Himalaya and the dusty-summery plains of northern India - we decided to pull out the old mountain range of the Shivaliks from its retirement in geography and geology text-books!
The glorious Paradise Flycatchers of the Himalayan foothills were filmed using a combination of a Digi Beta camcorder and long lenses, from hides, as well as from several twenty feet and higher tree-mounted Flycam cameras that were placed relatively close to the nests, without disturbing the birds. The Paradise Flycatchers have been filmed here for the first time in such intimate detail, along with all the other exciting denizens of their sylvan sub-Himalayan world, including the rare Pied Hornbill, the cliff-dwelling Goral and the Orange-headed Ground Thrush.
This film has some first-time and rare footage. Shot over four months in the summer of 2000. Over 28 hours of footage. Production expenditure: $80, 000. Rough cut ready.
Wild India 24 hours:
This innovative programme concept allows us to explore a less straitjacketed and more free-wheeling approach to the documentary form, lending it a new realism and imparting to it a life of its own. Condensing time and space, biodiversity and geography, spirit and form, all into one medium and in one space, we cover the entire Indian subcontinent in one sweeping montage, from Pakistan to Myanmar, and from Kashmir in the north to Kanyakumari and the Indian Ocean to the south. Everything is happening in one 24 hour sunrise-sunset-sunrise period on a winter day in December 2003, and yet there is a sense of timelessness about this fantastic journey through the heart of Wilderness India.
This was shot using a variety of techniques and cameras. Most of the filming was done on Digi Beta camcorders, the aerials were recorded on DVCAM using a Flycam, and several crews worked extensively and travelled far afield to record the extremities of the Indian subcontinent. Culled from an exciting mass of footage! A few of the species filmed have been recorded for the first time ever. Definitely a first-ever attempt on such a scale, and in such a tricky geographic sweep of terrain!
We’re No Monks:
Feature film; 2 hours and 15 minutes long; Widescreen Digital Betacam; 2004.
McLeod Ganj, also known as little Lhasa in India, is a few kilometers above Dharamshala. Tucked away in the foothills of the Himalaya in Northern India, it is a hub of Tibetan activities. Amid the cluster of Tibetan exiled government offices, institutions and organizations, ordinary refugees live with hopes of returning to Tibet someday. However, a generation has changed and so have dreams, desires and aspirations of the people, especially the younger ones. This story is about them.
Four friends find solace in a small cafe away from McLeod Ganj where they are not pressured by family and societal expectations. It is a perfect little place for unemployed and rejected youth to share and vent their emotions. Run and owned by a local Indian, town people however look at Shiva cafe in contempt. They think it is a hovel for drug addicts and the source of all illegal happenings in Dharamshala.
Damdul, a mute orphan, lives a contented life. Obscure but observant, Damdul’s mind is difficult to read.
Tenzin, an unemployed youth, wants go to America where he thinks lie solutions for all his problems. But his father, a Tibetan government employee, expects his son to follow his foot-steps. A conflict of priorities separates them...
Tsering is a carefree man, his life's choices having separated him from his wife. But now he is being separated from his little daughter as well, by his ex-father-in-law, and Tsering will do anything to stop him.
Pasang, a new arrival from Tibet, has a past filled with pain and hatred. A cousin has also made it into exile, and has brought him news of far greater loss than he had expected. A writer by hobby, Pasang authors plays to express his views on the Tibetan freedom struggle. He has written a play for the up-coming drama competition and is acting in it too. He is secretive about its contents, calling it 'sensitive'.
All is not always well for these young men, in their small world. A theft in town changes everything...
Suspected and alienated, the four friends still help each other out, when in trouble. They organize a party to raise funds for Pasang's sister who just arrived from Tibet and needs immediate medication. However, after the party and some drunken pranks, and the excessive bullying by a manipulative police officer, Tenzin gets pushed to a violent mission for Tibet's freedom.
A chilling twist to the story shows that personal objectives not only govern us in life, but also in death!
We’re No Monks
A struggle for identity
WILDERNESS FILMS INDIA LIMITED and CLEAR MIRROR PICTURES
announce completion of the first Indo-Tibetan digital feature film.
New Delhi: Wilderness Films India Limited and Clear Mirror Pictures today announced the completion of their joint co-production “We're no Monks”, the first ever digital Indo-Tibetan feature film. The release of the film is slated for 2004 in select theaters in New Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Calcutta and Dharamshala.
Announcing the release was Mr. Rupin Dang, Director, Wilderness Films and Pema Dhondup, Director, Clear Mirror Pictures.
We’re No Monks (WANM) shows a world of Tibetans sharply different from that usually perceived by the west. Caught between the expectations of a traditional society and the realities of the present world situation, four friends attempt to reconcile their dreams and aspirations with the social and political influences that push them to separate paths. One chooses the dreaded path of terrorism, which is against the non-violent teachings of the Dalai Lama. It is therefore a look into the possibility of young Tibetans taking the path of violence as a means of fighting for their cause.
To put this story on screen for the international audience, film school graduates and professionals from all over the world — the US, Germany, Italy and India, including veteran Bollywood actor Mr. Gulshan Grover and artists from the Tibetan Institute of Performing Arts — have joined up with Pema Dhondup, the writer and director of the film. Mr. Grover agreed to join the project out of his love of the contemporary nature of the script and the fact that it was about exiled Tibetan refugees living in India. He has not taken any compensation for his talent as a contribution to the Tibetan cause. He plays a no-nonsense local police officer.
Shot on 16:9 widescreen Digital Betacam, this film isthe first of its kind in India to be blown up to 35mm for worldwide theatrical release, a practice that is otherwise quite common in the west, in order to save on the high cost of making a celluloid feature film. Pema opted for it, however, to get the unique look he wanted for the neo-realistic docu-drama nature of the project, even apart from the cost benefits. Budgeted at about US$300, 000, the project will go a long way in encouraging low budget independent productions in India.
’We’re No Monks’ is already drawing attention in the international film festival circuits and has been submitted to Sundance, Slamdance, Telluride, Cannes and SFO Asian Film Festivals where it will be premiered in 2004.
The film will be released in theaters in the United States and Europe as part of mainstream film distribution channels, which will be initiated with the help of Wilderness Films’ distributor, Mr. Archie Scott from Florida. The film will also be released on DVD/VCD worldwide.
______________________________
For more information, please contact:
Rupin Dang
Managing Director
Wilderness Films India Ltd.
1 Factory Road
Ring Road South
New Delhi 110 029
Office: +91 11 26198255, 26198954, 26163766
Email: wfi@vsnl.com
www.wildfilmsindia.com