Film Follows Hermit Monks in China
Filmmakers Expected to Attend Screenings October 8 and 10
15 September 2005
The world premiere of Amongst White Clouds will be co-presented by the International Buddhist Film Festival at the 28th Mill Valley Film Festival. Screenings of the film are in Mill Valley at the Throckmorton, Saturday, October 8 at 12:30 pm and at the CinéArts@Sequoia, Monday, October 10, at 9:00 pm.
Inspired in part by the noted book by Bill Porter (Red Pine), Road To Heaven: Encounters With Chinese Hermits, and filmed on location in China by American Director Edward A. Burger, the film takes an unforgettable journey into the hidden tradition of China’s Buddhist hermit monks. Amongst White Clouds is an intimate insider’s look at students and masters living in scattered retreats dotting China’s Zhongnan Mountain range. These peaks have reputedly been home to recluses since the time of the Yellow Emperor, some five thousand years ago. It was widely thought that the tradition was all but wiped out, but the film emphatically and beautifully shows us otherwise.
One of only a few foreigners to have lived and studied with these elusive practitioners, Burger is able, with humor and compassion, to present their tradition, their wisdom, and the hardship and joy of their everyday lives among the clouds.
Producer Chad Pankewitz and Director Edward Burger are expected to attend and take questions at the screenings.
