The MFA Film Program is proud to bring the work of filmmakers Pan Nalin and Natasha De Betak to Boston June 7-14. From a remote Gujarati village, self-taught filmmaker Pan Nalin roamed Europe and the Himalayas for inspiration. His first feature, Samsara, garnered numerous awards on the international festival circuit. He has since made the documentary Ayurveda: The Art of Being, and Valley of Flowers, his second feature. Nalin currently has a feature film on the Buddha in production. The films of his collaborator, Natasha De Betak, chart a route to India via France, Hungary, Russia, and New York. The Art of Being, a four-program series celebrates legends of love, death, and immortality in the Himalayas; journeys from the nineteenth-century Silk Route to twenty-first-century Tokyo; as well as meditations on mind, medicine, and metaphysics from these transnational artists.
Tickets: Members, seniors and students $8; general admission $9. Discount matinee prices (weekday until 5 pm; weekends until 12:30 pm) are $6, $7. To purchase please call the box office at 617-369-3306 or online at www.mfa.org/film.
Samsara
Sat, Jun 7, 12:30 pm
Samsaraby Pan Nalin (2001, 135 min.). A spiritual love story set in the majestic landscape of Ladakh in the Himalayas, Samsarais a quest–one man’s struggle to find spiritual enlightenment. Two monks, Apo and Sonam, and a caravan of lamas make their way across the mountains in search of Tashi, a brilliant young disciple who is just completing three years of solitary meditation in a remote hermitage. Tashi is taken back to his ancient monastery, but his return has unexpected results. Despite a life devoted to the rigors of spiritual development, he finds himself experiencing a surprisingly profound sexual awakening. Soon he meets Pema, a beautiful young woman, with whom he falls deeply in love. For the first time, Tashi begins to question the spiritual values of his monastic existence. In Ladhaki/Tibetan with English subtitles.
Ayurveda: The Art of Being
Sun, Jun 8, 1 pm
Ayurveda: The Art of Being by Pan Nalin and Natasha De Betak (2001, 102 mi.). Originating in India, then spreading to Egypt, Greece, Rome, Tibet, China, Russia, and Japan, Ayurveda is considered the world’s oldest continually practiced system of holistic alternative medicine. In Ayurveda: The Art of Being, Indo-French director Pan Nalin travels throughout India, following several Ayurveda practitioners as they apply–with astonishing success–these ancient doctrines. This journey through India also examines healing from ancient to contemporary times. In English/Hindi with English subtitles.
Kaal and Speaking Tree
Thu, Jun 12, 6:30 pm
Kaal by Natasha De Betak (1997, 12 min.). A humble shoemaker practices his trade on the streets of Mumbai (Bombay). He «walks» in several pairs of shoes with his son’s help, unaware of what tomorrow will holds. Speaking Treeby Natasha De Betak (2007, 55 min.). After a massive earthquake kills thousands and leaves millions homeless, Deva–who lost his mind while grazing camels in the desert of northwestern India–miraculously regains his sanity and his life. In Hindi with
Valley of Flowers
Sat, Jun 14, 3 pm
Valley of Flowers by Pan Nalin (2007, 146 min.). Along the highest mountain passes of the Himalayas, tough, intrepid Jalan and his gang earn their living by stealing from unsuspecting travelers. Abiding by their own unique codes of honor and dividing the spoils equally, all is routine until the arrival of the mystifying and beautiful Ushna. Ushna offers to help the gang in their endeavors, under condition that they not ask why or how she is able to guide them to success. As the love between Jalan and
