BERLIN – February 19, 2009 — LongTale Vice President and internationally known acquisitions and sales executive, Ava B. today took the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival by surprise by announcing multiple distribution deals for MILAREPA: MAGICIAN, MURDERER, SAINT, a feature film by first time director and Tibetan lama Neten Chokling. At Berlin Ava B. has closed distribution deals for the UK (Axiom), France (Jupiter), Spain (Issan), Germany (Media Luna) and Taiwan, Hong Kong and China (KKL).
Ava B.’s quest to bring more attention to independent films is paying off. “We are extremely gratified by audience and distributor reaction to the MILAREPA film and expect to announce more deals in the coming weeks” said Ava B.
When Tibetan lama and filmmaker premiered his feature film MILAREPA at the Berlinale previously, Festival Director Dieter Kosslick helped launch the first-time filmmaker on the festival circuit. Although the film garnered awards and critical acclaim, according to the film’s Executive Producer and long-time Tibet supporter Gregory Kruglak, “We were all on a steep learning curve and until we met Ava B. we were struggling to close distribution deals. She was able to convince distributors that the popularity of Tibet coupled with strong Buddhist demographics in Europe and North America where there are now millions of western Buddhists, could support MILAREPA, a feature film based on the life of Tibet’s extraordinary 11th century mystic.”
MILAREPA, on one level, is the story of Tibet’s greatest yogi and spiritual warrior, but on a deeper level Milarepa’s story is a timeless tale of the futility of vengeance. Neten Chokling weaves a magical story of ancient Tibet that purposively parallels contemporary cycles of conflict and violence. The futility of vengeance is the bond that unites today’s audiences with this ancient saga about one of the world’s great seekers. The film has extraordinary production values and was shot on the Indo-Tibetan boarder using a cast and crew of over 70 monks from Neten Chokling’s monastery.