Act Normal

introduction

When Yuri Gagarin became the first man in Space, a young boy was looking up to the sky. Robert T. Edison did not suspect that his enthusiasm for space travels would lead him to the most dramatic decision of his life later on.

Robert Edison was born and raised in Nottingham. He had always had the feeling of being a Buddhist and started to practice from early age. His teacher advised him to seek further guidance, leading Robert to a monastery in Thailand. His plan to stay there for several months became a decade.

His life was transformed when he decided to visit one of his pen-pals in Iceland. Where he found hundreds of Buddhists who had immigrated to this cold country in the north. He was asked to stay there to serve their religious needs. Suddenly Robert became the only Buddhist monk in Iceland wearing simple robes in the harsh Icelandic winter.

Roberts life was transformed again when he travelled to Kazakstan (2000) to visit a space station where Yuri Gagarin had took of from. Robert had always been interested in space travels and that interest lead him to the surprise of his life. He fell in love with an aerobic instructor in Kazakstan, asked her to come with him to Iceland and marry him. That she did, and Robert resigned after sixteen years of monk-hood.

His marriage latest for five months. He separated and started to work as a security guard in a hospital. In few months Robert was transformed from a naïve monk to a “normal” person. Encountering the challenge of wearing pants, paying bills, as well as dealing with the headaches from the opposite sex.

His visit to the “normal world” ended in May 2004 when he travelled to Thailand to become Dhammanando again.

Filming started in 1994 and ended in April 2005.

DIRECTORS NOTE
olaf johannesson

The story about Robert is one of the most “fortunate” events that one can have a as a filmmaker.

I started filming in 1994 because of my sheer interest in buddhism. It was by luck that this story feel into my lap. Robert turned out to be a very charismatic and sympathetic character.

When he went to Kazakstan and got married I knew we were going to have a good story.

Then again, we he decided to become a monk again in 2004, the cycle was closed and we had a sort of epic film on our hands.

To witness his journey through ten years, undergoing such dramatic changes in his life was very fortunate indeed. The witness the visit of a monk to “our” normal world, a man with such trained and delicate senses entering our hectic modern life is truly unique.

What is unusual here, for a documentary, is that the story is so very clear and simple, and so neatly structured for a film.

MUSIC
bardi johannsson
The music for the film has already been recorded. It was composed by Bardi Johannsson and performed by the Bulgarian national orchestra. The music style has a deep epic value, and is meant to tie the many layers and times of the film together

STAFF & TECH INFO
details

Screening format
35mm / DigiBeta
Shooting format
HDV / Sp BETA / DV
Duration
56’& 80
Director
Olaf Johannesson
DOP
Ragnar Santos
Producers
Olaf Johannesson
Ragnar Santos
Helgi Sverrisson
Release
February 01 2006

COMPANY INFO
poppoli pictures

Poppoli Pictures produces heavy-weight documentaries targeting international audience. The Company focuses heavily on development before going to production stages, giving ideas and scripts time to grow.

The company’s aim is to eliminate the outdated star-driven fiction structure and traditional docs by bringing them together with a new “genre” of docs.

Poppoli Pictures is based partly on Iceland, around Europe, in New York and Asia. The company is a collection of artists / producers around the world under the supervision of it’s creator Olaf Johannesson.

DIRECTOR
info

Olaf de Fleur Johannesson studied physics in Reykjavik, graduating in 1995. Since then he has participated in many film projects, including both feature and documentary films. After working for two years for a production company, focusing primarily on TV documentaries, he founded the independent production company Poppoli Pictures. Headed by Johannesson as director and producer, the team created Shining Star that won the “Best Documentary” in the Icelandic Film Awards 2004. Since then Olaf and his team have released the feature documentary Africa United which is currently traveling around world festivals along with working on a feature documentary about a Buddhist monk who get’s married. That film has been in production for over ten years and is scheduled for release in early 2006. Icelandic film critics regard Johannesson as one of the biggest directing talents in the country.

		ACT NORMAL introduction When Yuri Gagarin became the first man in Space, a young boy was looking up to the sky. Robert T. Edison did not suspect that his enthusiasm for space travels would lead him to the most dramatic decision of his life later on. Robert Edison was born and raised in Nottingham. He had always had the feeling of being a Buddhist and started to practice from early age. His teacher advised him to seek further guidance, leading Robert to a monastery in Thailand. His plan to stay there for several months became a decade. His life was transformed when he decided to visit one of his pen-pals in Iceland. Where he found hundreds of Buddhists who had immigrated to this cold country in the north. He was asked to stay there to serve their religious needs. Suddenly Robert became the only Buddhist monk in Iceland wearing simple robes in the harsh Icelandic winter. Roberts life was transformed again when he travelled to Kazakstan (2000) to visit a space station where Yuri Gagarin had took of from. Robert had always been interested in space travels and that interest lead him to the surprise of his life. He fell in love with an aerobic instructor in Kazakstan, asked her to come with him to Iceland and marry him. That she did, and Robert resigned after sixteen years of monk-hood. His marriage latest for five months. He separated and started to work as a security guard in a hospital. In few months Robert was transformed from a naïve monk to a “normal” person. Encountering the challenge of wearing pants, paying bills, as well as dealing with the headaches from the opposite sex. His visit to the “normal world” ended in May 2004 when he travelled to Thailand to become Dhammanando again. Filming started in 1994 and ended in April 2005. DIRECTORS NOTE olaf johannesson The story about Robert is one of the most “fortunate” events that one can have a as a filmmaker. I started filming in 1994 because of my sheer interest in buddhism. It was by luck that this story feel into my lap. Robert turned out to be a very charismatic and sympathetic character. When he went to Kazakstan and got married I knew we were going to have a good story. Then again, we he decided to become a monk again in 2004, the cycle was closed and we had a sort of epic film on our hands. To witness his journey through ten years, undergoing such dramatic changes in his life was very fortunate indeed. The witness the visit of a monk to “our” normal world, a man with such trained and delicate senses entering our hectic modern life is truly unique. What is unusual here, for a documentary, is that the story is so very clear and simple, and so neatly structured for a film. MUSIC bardi johannsson The music for the film has already been recorded. It was composed by Bardi Johannsson and performed by the Bulgarian national orchestra. The music style has a deep epic value, and is meant to tie the many layers and times of the film together STAFF & TECH INFO details Screening format 35mm / DigiBeta Shooting format HDV / Sp BETA / DV Duration 56’& 80 Director Olaf Johannesson DOP Ragnar Santos Producers Olaf Johannesson Ragnar Santos Helgi Sverrisson Release February 01 2006 COMPANY INFO poppoli pictures Poppoli Pictures produces heavy-weight documentaries targeting international audience. The Company focuses heavily on development before going to production stages, giving ideas and scripts time to grow. The company’s aim is to eliminate the outdated star-driven fiction structure and traditional docs by bringing them together with a new “genre” of docs. Poppoli Pictures is based partly on Iceland, around Europe, in New York and Asia. The company is a collection of artists / producers around the world under the supervision of it’s creator Olaf Johannesson. DIRECTOR info Olaf de Fleur Johannesson studied physics in Reykjavik, graduating in 1995. Since then he has participated in many film projects, including both feature and documentary films. After working for two years for a production company, focusing primarily on TV documentaries, he founded the independent production company Poppoli Pictures. Headed by Johannesson as director and producer, the team created Shining Star that won the “Best Documentary” in the Icelandic Film Awards 2004. Since then Olaf and his team have released the feature documentary Africa United which is currently traveling around world festivals along with working on a feature documentary about a Buddhist monk who get’s married. That film has been in production for over ten years and is scheduled for release in early 2006. Icelandic film critics regard Johannesson as one of the biggest directing talents in the country. www.poppoli.com / +354 820220