It's been a while since I've updated the Tashi Project, mainly because the production was stuck at an impasse with no clear path forward. But the last few weeks has seen a huge shift in the fortunes of the production, and it feels like I'm closer than ever to getting it finished. There's still an immense amount of work to be done, but we are well past the half-way point now.
In way the process gets seriously hard from here forward. Polishing the details takes as much effort as building the structure. There's a lot of polish still to be applied, and now I'm thinking about who I might bring into the project to help steer it towards it's best conclusion.
The documentary has a fully formed shape now. Since the very first inception of Tashi TV the form and structure has felt very malleable. You can't make too many assumptions with this kind of project. The unexpected will will out in the end. You have to commit to following the path and seeing where it leads.
For the last 12 months that path has been obscured. One major setback in January closed down one of the potential resolutions to this story, and I needed to take a break from it for a while. During that time I've been contacted by a couple of people to find out if progress is still being made, and I have to thank those souls for their encouragement. Knowing that someone else really wants to see it finished can have a big effect in such moments.
I could point to any number of challenges along the way, but really the only thing stopping me from finishing the project... is me. I was holding onto my original idea for the story too tightly, and refusing to let go. Which ironic, given how much of the conversation inside the documentary is about "attachment" and "detachment" and how not letting go is a major source of suffering in life. I sometimes wonder if this documentary is about Tashi, or about me.
This past few weeks I've been reworking the edits from last year, and extending the timeline. It's looking very strong, rich in expression and there are a few special moments that I keep watching over and over again because they just feel so good. Having so much distance between what I shot in early 2025, and how the story is pulling together in the edit is another bonus. I can be critical of myself from 18 months ago in ways that I might not have been 12 months ago. I'm a little more detached now :)
We currently have about two thirds of a 90 minute feature in the can. In some ways the story could happily end exactly where it is currently. But there's a deeper layer to explore that I believe transforms the story line, and takes it from something elegant to something profound. We are yet to see if I have the spoons to pull it off.
That pause in the progression has also been a time of improving my own skills too. I simply have more refined abilities to throw at this project now, which also means I have more confidence in myself to deliver. I never like to suggest that I am confident about anything, because that is not my nature. I will say that I have always possessed conviction to see this through, and conviction matters a lot more than confidence.
I am excited to see how the final pieces come together. It may sound strange that even I don't know how this story ends, but that is the world I currently live in. I have a pretty good idea how I want it to land, but we will just have to wait and see.
I want to leave you with one thought, inspired by an interview that appears in the film. I was talking with the head lama at Tashi's gompa, the Khenpo-la, about the need for both wisdom and compassion in Buddhism. He explained this like the two wings of a bird, who only manages to fly because the wings work together. One wing is not enough. Compassion is important to guide the application of wisdom. And yet compassion is something we often forget to apply to one self.
– Ewen
Joy of Tashi
The story of a young monk in Nepal, on a journey to discover where photography and Buddhism come together.
Meet Tashi
