Films

A Zen Tale

Wry short film tells the story of three Zen monks from antiquity all played by the actor Kim Chan. The story is based on an ancient Buddhist tale on how seeing can be far from understanding.

Tag Line

What defines reality when three people perceive the same event so differently?

Plot

Deep in a Chinese forest, a pair of elderly monks are visited at their monastery by an equally aged mendicant, who asks to be challenged to a debate, so as to be able to spend the night. This was the age-old custom at Zen temples. They agree to a wordless challenge. Symbolic gestures, and colossal religious misunderstandings ensue. 

The movie is an illustration of an old Zen teaching showing that reality is a product of a person’s ego and that there is no such thing as absolute truth. Once you remove the ego, the perpetual veil on our thoughts, reality comes into focus. Truth only exists to an individual while interpreting reality. What we perceive is usually perceived very differently by someone else. 

In the film we end up with three completely different and contradictory stories of what might have taken place. This mystery is never solved in the film and, since three different versions of the truth are presented (and all seem plausible), the conclusion is that there is no such thing as an objective truth.

The three roles in the film are played by the same actor Kim Chan to illustrate that at its core everything is one.

Credits

Magdalena Solé—writer, producer and director

Starring

The tale stars the internationally recognized actor Kim Chan (Kundun, Lethal Weapon 4, The Corruptor, The Ancient in Kung Fu: The Legend Continues, and Now and Again’s The Eggman) in three different roles.  It was shot by cinematographer Dejan Georgevich (The Crossing Fields, Follow Me Outside), designed by Evelyn Sakash (The Langoliers, White Lies, Mrs. Winterbourne, Paradise) and costumed by Bill Kellard (Sesame Street, Ryan’s Hope, stage productions of A Flea in Her Ear, Showboat). The film was edited by Angelo Corrao ACE (Wonderland, The Lady in Question, Subway Stories, Against Her Will: The Carrie Buck Story, The Crossing Fields, White Lies).

Genre: Comedy

Length: 11 minutes

Format: 35mm 

Aspect Ratio: 1:85 (widescreen)

Sound: Dolby SR

Awards

Screened at 19 festivals

Sedona International Film Festival – 1st Prize

Black Maria Film and Video Festival – 2nd Prize

Athens (Ohio) International Film Festival – 3rd Prize Narrative 

Columbia University Film Festival – Best Cinematography Award

National Short Film Festival Krakow, Poland – 1st Prize: Golden Scissors Award

Man on Wire

On August 7th, 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center's twin towers. After dancing for nearly an hour on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. This extraordinary documentary incorporates Petit's personal footage to show how he overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges to achieve the artistic crime of the century.

Awards

2009 Oscar Winner for best Documentary Feature

Winner of 46 awards and 13 nominations 

Partial Crew List

James Marsh, Director

Philippe Petit, Story

Simon Chinn, Executive Producer

Maureen Ryan, Producer

Magdalena Solé, Unit Production Manager

Jinx Godfrey, Editor

Igor Martinovic, Cinematography,