Irish Film Institute -International Film Directory – Film Listing

Chasing the Light

    • Director

      Maurice O’Brien

    • Credits

      Producer:
      Clare Stronge

  • Category

    Documentary

In the early 1970s, charismatic hippie couple Peter and Harriet Cornish escaped the chaos of the modern world and headed to the wilds of West Cork where they established a spiritual haven which would eventually blossom into Dzogchen Beara, a world-leading Tibetan Buddhist centre. For five decades, the centre transformed the lives of thousands who sought comfort and support from Buddhist teachings by the wild Atlantic sea.

As the devoted community embarked on the building of Ireland’s first Tibetan Buddhist temple, a letter surfaced accusing their beloved leader, Sogyal Rinpoche, of serious misconduct. As the community grappled with the shocking allegations, and the ensuing investigation, Peter feared for the unravelling of everything he has dedicated his life to. Maurice O’Brien (The Artist and the Wall of Death) sensitively dissects this complicated history, to provide a meditative portrait of a fragile dream.

Notes by Sunniva O'Flynn

80 minutes, Ireland, 2024, Colour

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