Directing his second major film, The Dalai Lama Renaissance,"" Khashyar Darvich documents the 1999 Synthesis Conference held in Dharmasala, India.
The film tracks forty of the world's greatest minds from a wide variety of fields who gathered at the home of the Dalai Lama. Participants discussed their respective expertise and worked together to create solutions for the world's major problems.
The 40 conference participants split into smaller groups to discuss their ideas for the world, and each person was to provide an argument which would later be synthesized with others to find common ground. However, few seemed interested in following the orders of Brian Muldoon, the conference's director, and it became apparent personal ego would be a major factor in the progress and effectiveness of the conference. Within the first day, the participants were already beginning to fight over their purpose and leader.
As the conference began to fall apart, it was clear that a strong leader was needed, but locked by ego, no one could get behind one participant. It took the arrival of the Dalai Lama to bring the meeting to order. Because of the reverence each guest held for His Holiness, he quickly became a guiding light for the entire conference. In his welcoming talk, the Dalai Lama told the participants they were not there to make money, become famous or to just make a nice, inconsequential statement. ""There is something wrong and we need a new way to go,"" the Dalai Lama told them.
One would expect once a clear goal had been defined the conference would have progressed more efficiently, but such was not the case. The documentary continues to follow the conference throughout the remaining four days, touching on the power struggles and distractions that prevent any positive outcomes.
""The Dalai Lama Renaissance"" is comprised mostly of footage from 1999 and maintains an outdated appearance that can be distracting at times. The film has a tendency to jump from topic to topic and is occasionally difficult to follow, especially when random and seemingly unnecessary footage is added throughout.
Although no clear decision came as a result of this conference, the film still provides meaningful insight for audiences courtesy of His Holiness and the conference's many participants.
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