The Documentary Film “The Last Chance”

The documentary film “The Last Chance” was filmed in 2017 in the city of Elista. The film tells about courses on studying the native language and the basics of Buddhism at the Central Khurul of Kalmykia “The Golden Abode of Buddha Shakyamuni.” Filming took place from May to August 2017. The film's protagonists were the students, organizers, and teachers of the courses. The film used the rarest film archives from the 1920s and 1930s from the Russian State Archive of Film and Photo Documents. The director, cameraperson, and editor was Sonn Shagleeva. In 2018 she graduated from the Film and Television Directing Faculty of the Litovchin Humanitarian Institute of Television and Radio Broadcasting (GITR), from Andrei Zheleznakov's documentary film workshop. The film premiered in March 2018 at the Moscow House of Cinema. In the words of the film's author: “The main goal of the film is an attempt to draw as many people as possible to the study of Buddhism, the native language, and culture. To preserve the heritage of our ancestors, to pass culture and the native language on to future generations. Only all together can we do this.” Watch the film