Feature Documentary, 2022, 91 Mins
This feature documentary explores a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree. In what Tibetan Buddhists call ‘tukdam’, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation; remarkably, their bodies remain fresh and lifelike, without signs of decay for days, sometimes weeks after clinical death. Following ground-breaking scientific research into tukdam and taking us into intimate death stories of Tibetan meditators, the film juxtaposes scientific and Tibetan perspectives as it tries to unravel the mystery of ‘tukdam’.
Director: Donagh Coleman
Producers: Martha O’Neill (Ireland), Kaarle Aho (Finland), Pille Rünk (Estonia)
A Wildfire Films / Making Movies / AllFilm co-production
Development funding: Screen Ireland, YLE
Production funding: Screen Ireland, Finnish Film Foundation,Estonian Cultural Endowment, Estonian Film Institute, YLE in association with RTÉ, in co-production with KRO -NCRV Logo and with the Participation of ARTE G.E.I.E.
Festival Appearances
Galway Film Fleadh 2022
Helsinki International Film Festival 2022
Mill Valley Film Festival, USA 2022
Dharamshala International Film Festival, India, 2022