In December 2002, Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and his crew of 108 Bhutanese and westerners wrapped the principal photography of Rinpoche's latest film "Travellers & Magicians," the first feature length film to be shot in Bhutan.

Rinpoche and the crew, including stuntman and Assistant to the Director Neten Chokling Rinpoche, spent ten weeks living in purpose-built camps on location in the Kingdom of Bhutan, primarily in Chelela, Paro, Chendebji and Thimphu. Post production took place in Sydney Australia and at the Academy Award winning studios of WETA in New Zealand.

Since it's completion, the film has been featured at some of the world's top film festivals including, the Venice, London, Toronto, Pusan, and more recently, the International Buddhist Film Festival. On March 6th, 1200 people showed up for a screening in San Francisco's famed Castro theater.

Current T+M News:
· A benefit screening of the film for Lotus Outreach will take place on April 5 at 8:30pm at Cinema Le Balzac, Paris. This is an avant-premiere of the general release of Travellers & Magicians in France. The film will open to general public there on April 21.
· On March 15th, Tshewang Dendup who plays Dondup in the film flew from Bhutan to the Asian Film Festival in Deauville, France to receive the festival's sudience award on behalf of the film.
· The Hong Kong International Film Festival will also present the film on April 9 at 6pm at the Hong Kong City Hall Theatre; and on April 11 at 12:30pm at the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Grand Theatre.
· Plans for a New York premiere benefiting Khyentse Foundation are in the preliminary stages but no dates have been set for the benefit nor for the North American release of the film. Please keep checking back for updates.
· The beautiful new Travellers & Magicians book is now available at www.khyentsefoundation.org (click on the "Benefits Gallery"). The book features the entire shooting script, a commentary about the making of the film and hundreds of lush photos from nearly every scene in the movie.

About the Making of the Film:
On September 29th (2002) the first "action" was called and cameras began rolling. Cold steady rain had plagued the campsite from the moment crews arrived, trucks carrying all the lighting and grips equipments were stuck at the Indian border, only half the camera shipments had made it through customs, but Rinpoche was not worried. Monks from Deotang conducted a puja to pacify the local deities. The sun came out as if on cue and the first shot - the old man parting ways with his mysterious house guest - is one of the most stunning shots in the film. Despite numerous subsequent obstacles posed by shooting in such a remote place, Rinpoche never lost his cool. Even when one of the actors went missing for nearly two days, Rinpoche simply re-wrote a few scenes.

His story is actually two stories - one magical and one earthly - which are woven together with intersecting themes and two parallel characters. Each character is on an journey, fueled by desire. Remote locations chosen by Rinpoche and rarely seen by the public will be shared on screen in the context of these characters lives. The sets provide exceptional opportunities to show off Bhutan's stunning natural beauty.

Choice details - from the elaborate woven fabrics, the wooden phalluses, architecture, traditional bathtubs, baskets, chilis, cooking utensils - were selected by Art Director Ugyen Wangchuk, exquisitely lit by Gaffer Ray Peschke, and captured on film by Director of Photography Alan Kozlowski. Sixteen westerners worked on the film as Rinpoche wanted to use this opportunity to promote Bhutan's own filmmaking industry by training local filmmakers.

The Travellers & Magicians cast, including Deki Yangzom, Lhakpa Dorji, Sonam Kinga, Sonam Lhamo and Tshewang Dendup are all Bhutanese and the dialogue is all in Dzongka, Bhutan's official national language. All the mos are pointing to a successful international run.

To purchase the gorgeous new Travellers & Magicians book, including the entire shooting script, a commentary about the making of the film, and hundreds of photos, please visit www.khyentsefoundation.org and click on the "Benefits Gallery" button.