Black, Buddhist, and a Rwanda Genocide Survivor
Fascinating New Film Project featuring the Ven. Sangharakkhita
I first met Jenn Lindsay about ten years ago in Vienna. We were in a cohort together of interfaith leaders and peacemakers. We've stayed friends since, and I've continued following her work. She does such an amazing job of telling stories around faith and our world. Recently, I learned that her latest project, Minding Shadows, features another friend from our cohort — Ven. Sangharakkhita, a Black Rwandan man who survived the Rwandan Genocide and found refuge as a Buddhist monk. He's an incredible person, and his is an incredible story, and I'm so happy to see it shared with the world.
I sat with Jenn for a short interview, to learn more about why this story, and why now.
Simran: Tell us about this project and how it came together.
Minding Shadows is a feature-length documentary telling Sangha’s story, and touching on themes of Buddhism, the Rwandan genocide, revenge, martial arts, Jungian shadow work, transformation, mindfulness, immigration, and inner tranquility. We hope to screen the film in film festivals, on television broadcast, and in small groups. We have also created a Learning Guide and a mindfulness and meditation course to accompany the film and facilitate small group discussions and further explorations.
Simran: What has the process of making this film looked like for you? What steps have you taken? What comes next?
It all started when Sangha handed me a dog-eared copy of his autobiography in 2017 at the KAICIID interreligious dialogue conference. I read it quickly in my hotel room that night, utterly enraptured. His story was both shocking and humbling. I immediately pitched the idea of a documentary film about his life. Sangha said yes, and our adventure began. Little did we know how long it would take, and how many twists and turns lie ahead.
In the summer of 2017, Minding Shadows took on a life of its own. After securing a micro-grant, I accompanied him to his former homes in Rwanda and Uganda, where we filmed interviews with his surviving family members, mentors, and his childhood friends. Filming became complicated when the abbot of the Uganda Buddhist Centre, who had already expressed jealousy about Sangha’s attempts to publish his books and teach internationally, banished our monk from his monastery in the middle of production. One day in the middle of our filming, Sangha had to board a plane to Sri Lanka, This was good for narrative tension but hard for everyone, including the production team.
After this we faced a second-act crisis: Sangha’s departure from Uganda, followed by Sri Lanka residency laws changing, followed by Sangha’s trip to Kenya to secure a visa to travel to Europe and getting robbed, followed by his entry to Vienna and night bus to Berlin, settlement in a German refugee camp and then the COVID-19 pandemic. Through this period, Sangha used a smartphone and iPad camera to film daily video journals and b-roll of his surroundings.
The process of documentary filmmaking is very complex, expensive, and unpredictable. We have encountered lots of unforeseen obstacles but we really believe that this story matters, so we have persevered with the project.
In order to complete this film, we are rising money on Kickstarter at the link: http://www.supportmindingshadowsfilm.com
PLEA FROM JENN: By July 5, 2024 at midnight Pacific Standard Time, we must attract $30,000 in pledges to our Kickstarter page. We are almost there! Every donation counts. Even if you can’t give any dough, following us and sharing the campaign link is a big help too. We want to build an audience for this story.
Simran: What do you think this story has to offer? What do you hope people take from it?
I'm a filmmaker always on the hunt for a good story. Minding Shadows is a GREAT story, full of suspense, twists, humor, reunion, hope, transcendence, and determination. I'm confident that if people watch the 4-minute trailer at they will want to see the film made. On the level of pure entertainment, Minding Shadows is a profoundly engaging true-life story.
Regarding how the film might impact people positively, I have traveled around the world with Sangha and seen people transformed by his teachings over and over. The message of finding peace nonviolently is a challenge worth surmounting. This story opens up deep questions about suffering, resilience, and wellbeing that I think many people could benefit from contemplating, and watching this film could be a good stepping stone. As mentioned above, we also created a Learning Guide and a mindfulness and meditation course to accompany the film in order for people to go deeper.