T h e  G r e a t  I l l u s i o n


  

"The Great Illusion" is a nine and a half minute long documentary that explores how the members of the Hare Krishna Movement perceive reality, and their notions of reincarnation. It is set in the beautiful location of Bhaktivedanta Manor, Watford and also uncovers the life of Swami A.C. Prabhupada, the founder of the Hare Krishna Movement.

As my research progressed, I realised that their spiritual beliefs about what is real and what is illusion were radically different from conventional ideas. Their firm convictions regarding re-incarnation and the 'unreal' nature of the material world, were very unusual and worth exploring in depth. I was soon convinced that this belief system called "Maya", was to be the basis of my documentary. However I could not resist including a brief account of His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami A.C. Prabhupada.

I spent a number of weeks surveying the site of this beautiful manor and interviewing resident devotees. I reassured them of my genuine interest in their organisation and belief system, and was granted access to members who were able to express their views freely to me.

The location, prayer rituals and colourful ceremonies were fascinating and filmed extremely well. Although the documentary has not been televised (I am currently looking for such opportunities), I have shown it to critical audiences (including members of the Hare Krishna movement) so that I could learn from their feedback. The members of the Hare Krishna movement were satisfied with the documentary. I made it a point to ensure that the residents of the Manor did not feel threatened or exposed.

“In this polluted concept of life we are all trying to exploit the resources of material nature. But actually we are becoming more and more entangled in our complexities. This illusion is called Maya our hard struggle for existence for preening over the stringent laws of material nature.”
                                                                                                                                                                                                  (Swami A. C. Prabhupada)


The Great Illusion would not have been possible without the co-operation of the resident devotees of Bhaktivedanta Manor and the support of my family.


Running time: 10 minutes
Subtitled: English with audio descriptions




Screenings so far

Smart Lab Seminar, 2007 (East London University)

Club Electo, 29th October, 2003, Homerton, London.

 The Electronic Image event, April 2003, Stoke on Trent.

 Disability Arts Film Festival, (National Film Theatre) London, June 2003.
www.3btv.com, April, May, June, September, October and November 2003.

Sutton Fim Festival, Charles Cryer, May 2003

 Good Film Event, April 2003 held at the Troubadour Coffee House in London.

 Wood Green Film Festival, London, February 2003.

 October 2002, '"Uncut Special " - Independent Stand', at the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London
Portobello Film Festival, August 2002.

 'I Spy' Video Dining, Vauxhall, London, August 2002.

 Essex University, in an MA seminar on Documentary Film run by Professor Jeffery Geiger, February 2001.




Stills From
'The Great Illusion'
(These images will take a while to download, please wait.)


A devotee with her hands foldedA close up of Swami A. C. PrabhupadaDevotee cleaning the floor



A woman praying  An image of Radha and Krishna Devotee lighting a candle
 

Credits

With special thanks to the management of Bhaktivedanta Manor, Radha Mohan,  Prapannam Das, Bimal Krishna, Kanankabia Das, Philip Dare (Middlesex University), Roop Ramnani; music courtesy of Bhaktivedanta Manor, and Rama Records, album: Sri Radhika Stava, tracks: Gopinath and Pranams/Maha-Mantra, produced by Rama Records. Camera operated by Mark Fretwell and Si-Nae Chung. Supported by Nikki Scott and Roxane Grant.
A film by Sapna Ramnani, 2001.


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