Andrea Heckman & Ken O’Neil
Films
Bön: Mustang to Menri
This film explores the challenges of Asonam’s (Sonam Gurung) journey as a young boy as he travels with his Lama from his village, in the ancient kingdom of Mustang, (Nepal), to Menri Monastery (Northern India). He later returns to Mustang as an educated Geshe determined to help his people by supporting the preservation of their cultural heritage and economic sustainability.
Bön in Dolpo
Bön is Tibet’s oldest tradition. What rituals are still performed? What practices of Bön remain hidden behind these mountains of Upper Dolpo?
Our film crew accompanied three bön Geshes, born in Upper Dolpo, formerly part of the ancient Zhang Zhung kingdom, to confirm that Bön is still alive in the hearts of the people.
Bön and the West
Thousands of years ago, the ancient kingdom Zhang Zhung existed in Tibet, whose religion, Bön, continues into the modern era. Today at Menri and Triten Norbutse Monasteries, monks study Bön teachings spreading them around the world, where Westerners now embrace practices for finding compassion and joy, amidst a chaotic world.
Ausangate
The Quechua people living near Mt. Ausangate, 130 km SE of Cuzco are linguistic and cultural descendants of Inca and pre-Inca people who have revered this mountain for centuries, maintaining an interconnectedness to it, to their animals, crops and arts through their rituals and offerings to the mountain spirit or Apu.
Based on 25 years research in the Apu Ausangate region of Peru by Dr. Andrea M. Heckman, supported by a Fulbright Foundation Dissertation Research Grant.
Short Films
Woven Stories
Weaving in Northern New Mexico has joined three distinct cultures into a human tapestry with a common love of fiber and spirit of place. These traditions continue in the small communities of Mora, Taos, Tierra Amarilla, El Rito, Espanola, Truchas, and Chimayo, each one bringing a specific contribution to the art and practicality of fiber.
Mountain Sanctuary
As the world moves ever faster, the Hotel St. Bernard and the ski week experience envisioned fifty years ago by legendary French ski racer and Taos Ski School technical director Jean Mayer still provides a deeply unique, authentic mountain connection with nature through skiing, excellent cuisine, old-world charm, and camaraderie.