Press Clippings
RealScreen
June 18, 2012
The Wall Street Journal
June 14, 2012
“MY REINCARNATION takes the classic father-son story to a magnificent new level, all the more amazing because it offers a front-row seat at the actual transformation of a human being.”
The Times News
June 1, 2012
Fine Tuning
June 1, 2012
Eye For Film
April 5, 2012
“Whatever your beliefs, shake yourself at the end of the movie and remember: this is real life documentary, not fiction. The chrysalis of documentary movie-making transforms itself into moving evidence.”
The Pitch
March 23, 2012
The Kansas City Star
March 22, 2012
“Languid and contemplative, the film is typical of the intimate, paired-down aspect of Fox’s style, a documentary in which lives accumulate in small moments.”
RealScreen
March 22, 2012
“The 25th season of ‘POV’ will kick off on June 21 and run until October 18 with two special presentations scheduled for fall and winter. Director Jennifer Fox’s My Reincarnation, a 20-years-in-the-making doc about exiled Tibetan Buddhist master Chögyal Namkhai Norbu and his Western-born son, Yeshi, will launch the season.”
IndieWIRE
March 22, 2012
“POV announced its 2012 season today, celebrating 25 years on PBS with a lineup that includes such acclaimed nonfiction films as “Nostalgia for the Light,” “The City Dark” and “Give Up Tomorrow.” The award-winning documentary series, which has attracted some ire from filmmakers by moving last year from a Tuesday to a more competitive Thursday night at 10pm slot, will kick off with Jennifer Fox’s “My Reincarnation” on June 21st.”
Time Out Hong Kong
March 14, 2012
“Imagine this: you’re raised as an ordinary kid in Iowa or Nova Scotia or Rome. Like other kids, you drink, go to the movies, try to pick up girls… with one major difference. You’re also the chosen holy successor of a high-ranking Buddhist lama.”
Cornell Daily Sun
March 7, 2012
“MY REINCARNATION will change your life and stir your own epiphany, letting you decide to follow your ancestors’ culture and values or to adopt a more modern approach.”
STLMag.com
February 10, 2012
“The son’s gradual progression from restless, resentful youth to middle-aged man who embraces the role of Buddhist teacher represents an evolution that is at once entirely unsurprising and altogether fascinating to witness.”
Aspen Daily News
February 10, 2012
STLToday.com
February 8, 2012
“MY REINCARNATION is an unprecedented glimpse behind the saffron curtain.”
Diamantweg Buddhismus
February 7, 2012
Zeit Online
January 31, 2012
Film Dienst
January 31, 2012
The Chicago Reader
January 27, 2012
“Director Jennifer Fox shot this during extended stays with both men in 1989, 2002, and 2009; and like Michael Apted’s Up documentaries, it’s most interesting in its depiction of how personalities evolve over time.”
DocPoint festival brings documentaries to Helsinki
January 24, 2012
Chicago Tribune
January 20, 2012
“…A graceful and moving report of a father and a son learning to understand one another better.”
NewCity Film
January 18, 2012
“There’s much to contemplate in the dogged, understated “My Reincarnation’s” brief running time, but there is clarity in
sufficient measure.”
The Boston Globe
January 13, 2012
“Recognized from birth as the reincarnation of a famed lama, Yeshi wants none of that legacy. It’s a familiar domestic cold war, but one communicated partly through Buddhist philosophizing about life’s impermanence.”
POV
January 5, 2012
Kickstarter Campaign Secrets from Record-Breaking Documentary Director Jennifer Fox
The Washington Post
January 5, 2012
“There are plenty of such deep thoughts sprinkled throughout the film, along with a compelling story line about the relationship between a distant father – compassionate and wise to his students, but emotionally unavailable to his family – and his headstrong son.”
POV
December 23, 2011
“ The film is a wonderful tool to spring discussions about family, fathers and sons, Buddhism, spirituality, aging, facing death and reincarnation to name only a few of the topics.”
DCist
December 22, 2011
“Even those who have never assumed the lotus position may find wisdom in this Oedipal story of growth and contemplation, and those who recognize the distraction of Samsara will be even more intrigued by the subject’s—and thus the filmmaker’s— close access to the Dalai Lama.”
Hope for Film
December 21, 2011
Maximizing Distribution Through Crowdfunding: Interview with Jennifer Fox
Oregon Live
December 8, 2011
“ Just getting this film finished is a major achievement for Fox, thanks partly to a record-breaking crowdsourcing campaign that raised more than $150,000. It offers a rare look at the everyday life of a spiritual leader, so that even if Yeshi’s dilemma never seems that urgent or vital, “My Reincarnation” remains a compelling, universal film.”
Portland Mercury
December 8, 2011
“My Reincarnation is primarily about Yeshi’s slow, roundabout coming to terms with his spiritual calling, but it also provides a revealing look at the burdens of being a spiritual leader.”
Chris Flisher: Turning of the Wheel
November 5, 2011
Interview
The Interdependence Project
October 28, 2011
Interview with Jerry Kolber and Jennifer Fox – My Reincarnation Part One & Part Two
Tricycle Magazine
October 28, 2011
“The beauty of this graceful and deeply human film is how it makes clear that meditating on these questions for ourselves is part of our path, too.”
Moveable Fest
October 28, 2011
“…The film’s unforced nature yields more good than not, treating Namkai’s brush with cancer and Yeshi’s response with a quiet dignity as well as filling the film with Zen-like imagery of waves crashing at the beach and sunsets that seem wholly organic.”
Film Journal International
October 28, 2011
“My Reincarnation peeks into a little-known world and seems (despite its omissions) like an honest attempt to understand an age-old conflict played out as a modern-day family crisis.”
This Week In New York
October 28, 2011
“As much as it is about a father and a son, My Reincarnation is also about the old vs. the new, tradition vs. modernization, private love vs. public responsibility, the spiritual vs. the technological, and, above all, familial legacy.”
indieWIRE
October 28, 2011
First Person | “My Reincarnation” Director on Her 20 Years in the Making Spiritual Doc
The Huffington Post
October 28, 2011
Jennifer Fox’s Reincarnation as an Artist Entrepreneur
Flavorpill
October 28, 2011
“As much a story about father-and-son relations as it is about spirituality, director Jennifer Fox’s wholly unique story chronicles change and unexpected awakening.”
About.com
October 28, 2011
“Fox, who teaches filmmaking in addition to making films of her own, has done a masterful job in My Reincarnation of integrating her keen observations with her motivating beliefs and values. As filmmaker, Fox is an incessantly insightful fly on the wall, never focusing attention on herself, but never hiding her presence and identity, either. As a result, she is a masterful teacher, and My Reincarnation is a masterful teaching.”
The New York Times
October 27, 2011
“Jennifer Fox’s remarkable documentary My Reincarnation follows one such individual over the course of 20 years, only to find that destiny will have its way… Especially in the early footage, Chogyal Namkhai Norbu is an engaging, charismatic figure; by the end, Yeshi is finding his own footing, able to relate to a young, wired-in audience. My Reincarnation makes a pretty strong case: when the family business is enlightenment, listen to your dad.”
Critics Choice
October 27, 2011
“Jennifer Fox has made a unique documentary, giving audiences a look inside Tibetan Buddhism seldom seen before. ”
Slant Magazine
October 26, 2011
“☆ ☆ ☆ (3 Stars!) Like Raw Faith before it, this is a quiet film with a considerable cumulative impact. It folds you, seemingly while you weren’t looking, into a culture that’s probably beyond your immediate realm of understanding. This trick of empathy, too often underutilized, is one of the defining wonders of the movies.”
LAist
October 26, 2011
“Shot over 20 years, My Reincarnation ponders a simple question: does our family ultimately drive our decisions, or can it be fate? The backdrop of Tibetan spiritual leadership transforms a familiar struggle into something truly fascinating.”
Hollywood Jesus
October 26, 2011
Interview with the Director
Film Independent
October 25, 2011
Following Jennifer Fox through My Reincarnation
HerFlix
October 25, 2011
herFLiX Moment: My Reincarnation
New York Magazine
October 24, 2011
“If you want to know what Buddhist leaders are like in private, this documentary following the life of a Tibetan spiritual master and his complex relationship with his Westernized son will make for fascinating viewing.”
Time Out
October 24, 2011
“It’s fascinating to watch Yeshi grow from a skeptical teenager into a spiritual leader—a transformation that still doesn’t bring him any closer to his father.”
NewsBlaze
October 24, 2011
“What makes this picture fascinating is the fact that she shot it over the course of 20 years, which enables the audience to witness a tremendous degree of personal development on the part of the protagonists, especially Yeshi who goes from being a rebellious teen to an aspiring musician/photographer to a settled, suburban family man in front of our very eyes. Watching that evolution, who would ever guess that he might eventually come around to giving his dad’s desire serious consideration?”
GRAND Magazine
October 20, 2011
“From the title you’ll most likely grasp this documentary is about the Buddhist belief of reincarnation; however, the film covers more than Buddhist philosophy and beliefs. It features all the dynamics of everyday modern family life – its joys, struggles and conflicts.”
BeliefNet
October 18, 2011
“Whatever your beliefs about rebirth, this film is worth watching. Believers will find the film comforting and familiar; non-believers can focus on the interpersonal poignancy. While it is reflected in the title of the film, reincarnation is not the central focus of the film. Instead, the focus is on finding one’s way through the everyday world filled with matters of consequence, frustrations, disappointments, and small joys.”
Buddhist Dispatch
October 15, 2011
“The stories of both the father and the son combine to make MY REINCARNATION a universal drama that taps into the classic narrative of family and inheritance. As time passes, both father and son begin to change, giving MY REINCARNATION the scope and depth of great fiction.”
Spirituality & Practice
October 11, 2011
“This unusual and enlightening documentary was shot over a period of 20 years and offers a fascinating look at the beliefs and practices of Tibetan Buddhism.”
The Los Angeles Times
September 4, 2011
Fall Sneaks List
Variety
June 24, 2011
“The path by which Yeshi finds his calling and merges it harmoniously with his work and “other” life supplies the docu with a highly engaging final third. The emotional currents running through Yeshi’s revitalized relationship with Norbu, and the role played by his Italian mother, Rosa, are particularly satisfying.”
Living News
June 1, 2011
“Above all, this is a powerful story of the passing of knowledge and tradition across generations disrupted by the tragedy of war, revolution and displacement. Told with searing honesty and a gentle playfulness, it is in the hands of a master storyteller. Jennifer Fox has received international awards for her previous films but her experience as a long term Dzogchen practitioner brings a different sensibility to the father/son parable, making it possible for it to be viewed on many levels – as a straightforward and compelling telling, an important historical documentation or a profound teaching.”
The Huffington Post
May 23, 2011
Buddhist Samaya and The Making of ‘My Reincarnation’
Unveiled Arts
May 14, 2011
My Reincarnation, A Special Sneak Preview
SBS
May 13, 2011
My Reincarnation: Jennifer Fox (Interview)
Video: Watch Now
Co-Working News
April 29, 2011
How to support a documentary on Kickstarter
Film Annex
December 1, 2010
MY REINCARNATION Jennifer Fox (Interview)
Vanity Fair (Italy)
November 24, 2010
My Reincarnation at the Festival dei Popoli
Happinez
October 31, 2010
My Reincarnation
La Nazione
September 11, 2010
My Reincarnation
