Kiwi Buddha

Background

By NZ On Screen team 16/04/2015

Kiwi Buddha follows the journey of seven-year-old Rinpoche, a schoolboy from Kaukapakapa, who becomes the first Buddhist High Lama incarnated in the Southern Hemsphere.

Rinpoche was brought up by Tibetan-born parents just north of Auckland. After his sixth birthday he was officially recognised as a reincarnation of a High Tibetan Lama. This recognition was confirmed by the present (14th), Dalai Lama. In 1999 venerable Pong Re Sung Rap Tulku Rinpoche, or Rinpoche for short, leaves behind his school friends, and Pokemon, to take up religious training in the foothills of the Himalayas.

Director Peta Carey first heard the story of Rinpoche on National Radio. Carey immediately recognised the potential of the story and began shooting before any funding had been secured. TV3 agreed to broadcast the documentary and NZ On Air funding followed.

Although the budget was tight it is certainly not apparent in the final product. Carey shared camera work with DoP Swami Hansa and the results are stunning. As much a travelogue as documentary, Kiwi Buddha captures compelling images of New Zealand and the Indian Himalayas and their contrasting cultures.

When asked at the end of the documentary what he will do at the monastery, Rinpoche answers, "I'm going to study here, then I'm going to meditate here, then I'm going to do some puja [spiritual practice], then I can play some Game Boy."

Editors Ken Sparks and Roger Bunn take full advantage of juxtaposing images, mixing the sacred with the profane. The young Lama in traditional dress eats a hamburger in McDonalds; Rinpoche clutches a toy godzilla on his farewell trip through New Zealand and sits on a throne in Northland with school children looking up and asking, "do you like sitting up there?" The images are complimented with original compositions by Joel Haines.

Kiwi Buddha sold to the National Geographic channel and to 60 territories.