Tukdam – Between Worlds
Details
Most of us think of death as something clear-cut, and that medical science has it neatly figured out. This feature documentary explodes such assumptions through its exploration of a phenomenon that blurs life and death to an unprecedented degree.
In what Tibetan Buddhists call tukdam, advanced meditators die in a consciously controlled manner. Though dead according to our biomedical standards, they often stay sitting upright in meditation; remarkably, their bodies remain fresh and lifelike, without signs of decay for days, sometimes weeks after clinical death.
Following ground-breaking scientific research into tukdam and taking us into intimate death stories of Tibetan meditators, the film juxtaposes scientific and Tibetan perspectives as it tries to unravel the mystery of tukdam.
DIRECTOR: Donagh Coleman
SCRIPT: Donagh Coleman
PHOTOGRAPHY: Mika Mattila, Satya Rai Nagpaul, Donagh Coleman, Peter Flinckenberg
EDITING: Mirjam Strugalla
MUSIC: Märt-Matis Lill
PRODUCERS: Kaarle Aho, Martha O’Neill
CO-PRODUCERS: Pille Rünk / Allfilm, Donagh Coleman
PRODUCTION COMPANY: Making Movies
SALES: Journeyman Pictures
Director

Donagh Coleman
Finnish-Irish-American filmmaker Donagh Coleman holds degrees in Philosophy and Psychology and Music and Media Technologies from Trinity College Dublin, and a MA in Asian Studies from UC Berkeley. Previous films with wide international festival and TV exposure include A Gesar Bard's Tale and Stone Pastures. Donagh's films have also been shown at museums such as MoMA and the Rubin Museum of Art in New York, and by the European Commission.
Contact

Suvi Railo
Advisor / International Promotion and Cultural Export of Documentary Films
• festival distribution strategy for documentary films
• travel, project and material and marketing support for documentary films
+358 9 6220 3021