February 2013. An Uncommon King partners with Tugg.com to bring the film to theatres across the U.S. Eager to see An Uncommon King? Now you can bring it to a theater near you with Tugg! Visit An Uncommon King on Tugg and sign up to host your screening!
February 16, 2013. An Uncommon King will be a featured film at Doc Talks, hosted at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre in Fredericton, New Brunswick. Check out our Screenings page for details and get tickets at DocTalks.ca.
November 14, 2012. “Johanna Lunn is an excellent storyteller,” says Steve Derrickson of the Rosendale, NY screening of An Uncommon King. “This film is the story of enlightened rulership, about one man leading by example, about ancient dignity and wisdom holding a key to the ‘pickle’ the world is in today. It is about recognizing basic goodness in ourselves and in society, training to rule our sacred world beginning with our own minds. This film should certainly bring Sakyong Mipham and the vision of Shambhala to a broader public. I hope it does. It couldn’t be better timing.”Read the full review at ShambhalaTimes.org.
September 16, 2012. “To say I was nervous prior to the premiere is an understatement,” admits director Johanna Lunn. “After so many years of dedicated work it was coming to a big screen. I knew ticket sales were brisk and was grateful for excellent reviews. But neither James nor I had seen the movie blown up on the big screen. We hadn’t heard the amazing 5.1 dolby sound mix in a commercial theater. So many things could go wrong. But they didn’t. The picture and sound were amazing as it un-spooled for a receptive audience. People laughed and cried and rode the movie out until the end. The Q&A spilled into the halls and over and over again people thanked us for making the movie. It couldn’t have gone better.”
September 15, 2012. “[An Uncommon King] is a colourful, fast-moving filmography, orchestrating and integrating image, action, and interview, in which the Uncommon King’s uncommon kingdom is revealed as a kingdom of the heart, his realm as the realm of the mind and its only law the gentleness of the actions the enlightened heart leads to,” says The Chronicle Herald. Read the full review on TheChronicleHerald.ca.
August 23, 2012. “Over this summer sneak preview screenings of An Uncommon King” were offered at some of the retreats led by the Sakyong,” shares the film’s director Johanna Lunn. “It was shown at Karme Chöling in Vermont, in Boulder, at Dorje Denma Ling in Nova Scotia and at Dechen Chöling in France. The reaction was resoundingly positive.” For responses to the film, read the full Shambhala Times update on ShambhalaTimes.org.
August 7, 2012 through September 21, 2012. An Uncommon King launches its crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo, making it possible for people to partner with the filmmakers to bring the film and its inspiring message to viewers around the world. Participants choose from a variety of “uncommon perks,” including pre-release downloads of the film, beautiful prints of rare photographs of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche and Tibet, art prints of paintings done by Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, and much more. Learn about how you can participate on An Uncommon King on Indiegogo.
August 2012. An Uncommon King is chosen as an official selection of the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax, Nova Scotia. The screening will be held on Sunday, September 16, at 2:05 pm at the Park Lane Theatre 4. Learn more and get tickets from The Atlantic Film Festival.
July 6, 2012. Shambhala President Richard Reoch interviews Johanna Lunn, director of the new film An Uncommon King. “This film is about the establishment of the lineage of Sakyongs,” says Johanna. “Where Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche comes from and what his life purpose is. It’s a father–son story, it’s a story about wisdom passing from East to West. Above all it’s a story about basic goodness. It’s a living story that is unfolding all the time. So maybe you could think of this as a chapter of what I hope will be a very storied life.”Read the full interview with Johanna Lunn on ShambhalaTimes.org.
April 2012. “In addition to being a public festival,Hot Docs is also the largest industry market in North America for documentaries,” says Johanna Lunn, director of An Uncommon King. “I sent out an invitation to distributors, buyers and broad- casters to come and screen the movie. To get people’s attention in the subject header of the email I put ‘Is it possible society is good?’ The responses were really interesting. I got one email back that simply said ‘no.’ And many others expressing interest in seeing the movie. Since then we have been talking with a number of distributors and finalizing a deal with iTunes and Netflicks, among others.”