Karmapa - Two Ways of Divinity (1998) watch online

Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity is a 1998 documentary film shot in Tibet and China between 1994 and 1998 directed by Arto Halonen. The film received the European Union’s humanitarian ECHO Award.

Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity explores Tibet’s spiritual community and China’s policies toward Tibet. It focuses on two high-ranking Tibetan Buddhist Karmapa lamas, the controversy surrounding their selection, and China’s efforts to use the position of the Karmapa for political purposes. The Dalai Lama also plays a central role in the film.

According to director Halonen, the film deals with the persecution of religion and culture in Tibet and China’s infiltration to the Tibetan Buddhist community. Halonen stated that China’s aim was to select the next Dalai Lama as a puppet ruler of Tibet. He said that this information was based on views expressed to him by Chinese authorities.

Chinese authorities monitored the filming of the documentary in Tibet and China and attempted to influence the final result. China also tried to prevent the film from being screened at a Hong Kong Film Festival in 1999.

A companion documentary, Karmapa - a Voyage on the Roof of the World, was also released in the same year. It documented the making of Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity and received an award at Kettu-päivät. Both films were co-productions with Yle TV2’s Dokumenttiprojekti.

Halonen was joined by Czech filmmaker Viliam Poltikovič, who served as the film’s second screenwriter and co-director. In the Finnish version, the film is narrated by Esko Salminen, while the international version is narrated by Peter Coyote. The DVD release includes additional interviews with, among others, Pekka Haavisto, Jan Olof Mallander, and the film’s financier Jarmo Jääskeläinen. The material discusses the background of the film and the filming process.

Karmapa – Two Ways of Divinity received wide international attention and was theatrically released in several countries, including Finland, Switzerland and Germany. The film was screened at numerous film festivals, with its international premiere taking place at the IDFA documentary film festival in Amsterdam. In addition to the ECHO Award, the film received awards for Best Production and Editing at the Gava Film Festival in Spain. In Finland, it received The Finnish State Quality Production Award.

Source: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA)