Jainism on Screen
Key information
- Date
- Time
-
2:00 pm to 6:00 pm
- Venue
- SOAS campus
- Room
- Brunei Gallery Lecture Theatre
- Event type
- Event highlights
About this event
To mark the finale of the exhibition Pure Soul: The Jaina Spiritual Traditions at SOAS’s Brunei Gallery, the Centre of Jaina Studies at SOAS proudly presents a double bill of film screenings which explore Jain themes and teachings.
Ship of Theseus, 2012, a film drama written and directed by Anand Gandhi (Mumbai), and Pure Soul, 2023, a documentary film produced and directed by Anna Sowa and Remi Sowa with Corinne Smith (SOAS University of London) which is premiered at this event.
Screenings are followed by Q&A discussions with the filmmakers.
There will also be an immersive experience of Jain rituals of worship via VR headsets. Rituals were filmed using 360-degree cameras at a Digambara Jain temple in Mumbai.
The event also gives the opportunity to meet curators of the SOAS exhibition.
Ship of Theseus
Ship of Theseus is an internationally acclaimed, award-winning film which presents questions of identity, justice, beauty, meaning and death through the characters of an experimental photographer, an ailing monk, and a young stockbroker. Presented in triptych form, part two of Ship of Theseus explores applied Jain ethics, grounded in the principle of non-violence (ahimsa), and the conflicts and challenges which arise in the setting of a present-day Indian metropolis.
Pure Soul
Pure Soul presents the life and teaching of the Digambara Jain lay guru Kanji Swami (1889–1980). It draws upon material from interviews with followers and sceptics alongside archival recordings and scriptures to give an intimate but rounded picture of the impact made by his teachings. The documentary is the outcome of a collaboration between the Centre of Jaina Studies and Chouette Films.
Learn more about research behind this documentary on the Kanji Swami: History, Teachings, Community page.
Programme
|
14:00 |
Welcome and introduction to the first film |
| 14:15 | The Ship of Theseus (Part II) |
| 14:45 | Q&A |
| 15:00 | Tea and coffee |
| 15:30 | Film premiere: Pure Soul |
| 16:30 | Q&A |
| 17:00 | Closing remarks on the SOAS exhibition Pure Soul |
