The national television premiere of a documentary film on Dzogchen Beara will be broadcast on RTÉ One on Thursday, July 10th; the film features the spiritual community of the Buddhist centre on the Beara peninsula.
The Breaking Wave: The Buddhists of Beara has been directed by Ballyporeen native Maurice O’Brien, and comes to the small screen after an international festival run followed by a nationwide theatrical release in Ireland under its original title, Chasing the Light.
The documentary received positive reviews, and was nominated for ‘Best Irish Feature’ at the Cork International Film Festival last November.
Filmed over five years, the movie marks 50 years since the centre was established, and tells the story of charismatic hippie Peter Cornish, who founded a spiritual haven on the cliffs of West Cork, which eventually blossomed into Dzogchen Beara.
Peter and Harriet Cornish enjoying a drink in Allihies.
For five decades, this former clifftop farm has transformed the lives of thousands who come to seek comfort and support from Buddhist teachings amidst the wild Atlantic seascapes.
But, just as the community made plans to build Ireland’s first Tibetan Buddhist temple, there were allegations of serious misconduct made against the centre’s spiritual leader, Sogyal Rinpoche.
The documentary covers how the community grappled with the allegation, and the ensuing investigation, while Peter was left to confront the potential unravelling of everything he dedicated his life to.
The film documents this complicated history, in a place of peace and mediation at the edge of the Atlantic.
