On July 4th, 2020, the world has lost one of its most inspiring spiritual leaders, Bhakti Charu Swami, to COVID-19. The shock of the loss made thousands of his followers numb, while others expressed their pain by posting their appreciations of their beloved master, or friend on many different forums around the globe.
"The vacuum felt by Bhakti Charu Maharaja’s departure is immense. And that is how it should be. These feelings of separation are the proper testimony to Bhakti Charu Maharaja’s life—so exemplary, so well lived." (Bhadrinarayan Swami, San Diego, CA, USA)
"You touched so many hearts from coast to coast, just as you did in Europe, India, and everywhere." (Kalakantha Das, Gainesville, FL, USA)
"The sweetest person I have ever known." (Pragosh Das, Dublin, Ireland)
"Although we know intellectually from our philosophy that the 'soul is eternal and never dies,' we cannot deny the sadness we feel when a devotee departs." (Indradyumna Swami, Warsaw, Poland)
Our team consisting of Bhakti Charu Swami's disciples, admirers as well as professional filmmakers have launched this documentary film project with the purpose of celebrating Bhakti Charu Swami's life and to present the impact he made in the world to a large global audience.
The project's core team:
Advisors:
Anuttama Dasa - ISKCON GBC-member, ISKCON Communications Minister, Washington, DC, USA
Yadubara Das and Visakha Dasi - award-winning filmmakers of Inner Voice Productions, creators of the feature documentary HARE KRISHNA! THE MANTRA, THE MOVEMENT, AND THE SWAMI WHO STARTED IT ALL
Bhakti Prema Swami - Chairman of the Board of ISKCON Ujjain, India
Mark J. DeGasperi - film critic at Sony Pictures Entertainment, Hollywood, CA, USA; screenwriting professor at New York University
Avelo Roy (Ajita Das) - serial entrepreneur, MD Kolkata Ventures, 4x TEDx speaker, Kolkata, India
Producers:
Sharon Hamilton-Getz (Saranagati Dasi) - Founder - UN Rep. - ProjectHarmony, Institute of International Social Development, New York, USA
Arundhati Biswas (Aparajita Radhika Dasi) - MD, activist, Chicago, IL, USA
Krishna Kishor Das - Bhakti Charu Swami's secretary in his last years, Ujjain, India (associate producer)
Deena Krishna Das - Bhakti Yoga Guide, London, UK (associate producer)
Cinematography:
Filip Cargonja (Gaura Govinda Das) - director of photography, Zagreb, Croatia
Rama Charana Das - archival footage manager, Ujjain, India
Arpan Ganguly (Aradhya Bhagavan Das) - still photography coordinator, Kolkata, India
Sound Engineering & Color Editing:
Maxim Varfolomeyev (Shyam Gopal Das) and Olga Avramenko (Vijay Radhika Dasi) of Five Pictures, Dubai, UAE, the creators of RECONNECTION, a multi-award-winning film about the "Vrindavan experience".
Production Company:
Karuna Productions (a New York-based company that produced several award-winning films, including THE JOY OF DEVOTION, THE STOLEN RIVER, NATURE'S I.Q., VIOLET AND THE WILDMAN as well as over 50 short films and videos. www.karunaproductions.com)
In association with:
Institute of International Social Development, New York, USA - an NGO with a Consultative Status at the United Nations
Director:
Krisztina Danka, Ph.D. (Krishna Lila Dasi) - a Hungarian-origin USA-based academic, social activist, and multi-award-winning filmmaker. She possesses a Ph.D. in Comparative Literary Studies and Aesthetics from the Eotvos Lorand University of Budapest, and filmmaking professional certificates from New York University and York Film Academy. She is the producer-director of three feature films distributed worldwide in theaters, television, and online, as well as dozens of TV series, short films, and videos. Her awards include the American Religion Communications Council’s DeRose-Hinkhouse Memorial Award in Chicago, and the 'Best Film on Religion Award' at the Kolkata Film Festival for her THE JOY OF DEVOTION film; the ‘Best in Show’ Award at the Cinema Verde International Environmental Films & Arts Festival in Gainesville, FL; ‘The Best Green Film’ Award at the LIFFT India Cinefest in Mumbai, India, and an ‘Award of Recognition’ at the prestigious Impact DOCS Award Competition in Hollywood, California for her THE STOLEN RIVER film. For her services in the International Society for Krishna-consciousness, in 2016, she received the ‘ISKCON Europe Excellence Award’ from the European GBC. For her achievement in presenting the bhakti-culture through filmmaking, in 2017, in Mayapur, she was given the ‘Lifetime Achievements’ Nityananda Award. (For a full list of Krishna-lila’s films visit: https://www.karunaproductions.com)
As the project goes along, there are more team members coming on board.
Please kindly help preserve Bhakti Charu Swami's legacy. Join in celebrating the life and impact of a modern-day Vaishnava saint, let's share his glories together with the rest of the world!
The Plan
Depending on the support we get, we are planning to produce two films. One for vast social media distribution, the other one for television, streaming, and educational distribution - both films to be subtitled and released in a minimum of 10 languages (Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Gujarati, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Portuguese, French, and German.) Additionally, we'll send both documentaries to film festivals.
1. A MICRO DOCUMENTARY for vast social media distribution
Running time: 8 -15 minutes
Production timeline: October 1st, 2020 - March 15th, 2021
Release date: March 28th, 2021, Gaura Purnima
Summary: The documentary depicts Bhakti Charu Swami’s journey based on in-depth interviews with him recorded by a professional film crew in October 2015 in Mumbai and in February 2020 in Mayapur. Along with professionally recorded scenes with him in it, archival footage and photos will be used as principal visuals.
Distribution: worldwide, through YouTube and social media (through a designated 6-month campaign)
2. A MID-LENGTH / FEATURE DOCUMENTARY for television, streaming, and educational distribution
Running time: 30-60 minutes
Production timeline: January 1st, 2021 - June 30th, 2021
Release date: July 4th, 2021, Bhakti Charu Swami’s Disappearance Day
The documentary depicts Bhakti Charu Swami’s journey and legacy based on interviews with himself, with additionally recorded interviews with people who were impacted by his life as well as prominent scholars of Vaishnnavism, global entrepreneurs, government officials. It will also explore how the global ISKCON community is coping with the pandemic and the loss of a spiritual leader of such caliber as he was; how devotees help one another in the process of mourning or getting through a crisis of faith; what lessons they have learned, and how they prepare for their own end of life "exam."
Distribution: worldwide through television, streaming services such as Amazon Prime, as well as educational institutions
What we have already accomplished:
With a professional filmmaking crew, we have recorded two in-depth interviews with Bhakti Charu Swami in October 2015 in Mumbai and in most recently, in February 2020 in Mayapur. Among many other topics, in these interviews he talks about his life journey, his relationship with his spiritual master A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, his most important projects, ISKCON as an institution, his personal realizations, fears, and sources of joy. These interviews will serve as the principal materials for the two films.
We also have professionally recorded scenes with him giving lectures, singing, participating at GBC meetings, outreach events, etc, as well as there is a vast array of archival footage and photos at our disposal.
Thanks to our donors who had put down the "seed money" we have put together the film project's introductory trailer.
What we need to realize the project:
For the short micro-documentary we'll need to do more research, based on which writing a script, come up with an impactful artistic concept, localize the right visuals, music, and sound, design and edit the video and when it is all done, organize a social media campaign to share the film far and wide.
For the longer documentary, in addition of the above tasks, we'll need to conduct a whole series of interviews with ISKCON leaders, senior Vaishnavas, Bhakti Charu Swami's disciples, admires, scholars, entrepreneurs, government officials, and weave it all together into a visually engaging, and intellectually and emotionally appealing story. Then, when the film is ready, find the most suitable distribution channels and media outlets to share the film with the audience at large.
All this requires a dedicated team, a lot of time, and sufficient material resources.
Most of the team members have offered to serve on the project free of charge. Those of us with families to maintain, or who cannot afford to live without an income for a substantial amount of time have offered to work on the films for the half, or less of the normal professional salary.
Although these films are non-for-profit by nature, if any profit materializes from them, the great majority of it will be directed toward projects preserving Bhakti Charu Swami's legacy.
Below are the budgets of both projects:
MICRO DOCUMENTARY Production expenses
Research and scriptwriting: $1,050
Producing and directing expenses: $4,450
Editing, sound engineering, color correction: $3,650
Extra footage, photo, music: $500
Subtitling: $1,500
Film festivals: $500
Distribution, social media marketing campaign: $3,000
Equipment rental: $250
Fees, Accounting: $1,500
Total expenses: $16,400
FEATURE DOCUMENTARY Production expenses
Research and script writing: $3,750
Cinematography: $3,200
Producing and directing expenses: $7,900
Editing: $4,900
Graphic design, sound engineering, color correction $3,700
External drives, equipment rental: $900
Extra footage, photo, music: $500
Subtitling: $4,500
Film festivals (fees and participation): $3,000
Distribution, marketing: $10,000
Fees, accounting : $450
Total expenses: $45,250
The grand total to realize both films and the entire project is: $61,650
Depending on the support we get, we could either produce both films or only the short one, which even with a lesser budget will be done under all circumstances, so your contributions will be honored no matter what.
Please kindly consider donating to this campaign. At this point we are collecting to cover the production expenses of the short film, which is $16,400.
If you live in the US and would like to make your donation tax-deductible, please choose to deposit, wire transfer, or send the desired funds trough Zelle to our co-producer institution:
Institute of International Social Development
EIN: 134179678
Bank: Citibank
Routing number: 021000089
Bank account number: 04378318
Bank address: 460 Park Avenue at 57th Street, New York, NY 10022, USA
Checks could be mailed to: IISD, 52 Fairfield Street, Valley Stream, NY 11581, USA
For more information please contact Saranagati Dasi producer at (212) 726 1617 , or bcsfilmproject@gmail.com
Other Ways You Can Help
If you can't contribute to the campaign financially, it doesn't mean you can't help:
- If you have relevant skills, we would be happy to engage you in the campaign.
- Please get the word out and make some noise about the campaign.
- Please use the Indiegogo share tools!
